Nachos and Salsa

I’m excited that for this post. We are doing a nacho post as part that you can make for dad for a great Father’s Day snack and we are going to make nachos and snack on them today! We know that there are so many different types of nachos that you can make. As we were looking up recipes we came across so many techniques and types that you can make. We have put some links below of some good recipes/toppings so you can take a look at those. We’ve also got a step by step how to for making some really simple and very yummy nachos.

Triple Cheese Nachos

When I make nachos, I either use a tin foil plate or a flat Corningware dish. You can also line a cookie sheet with tin foil and bake the nachos that way. For these cheesy nachos, we are grating some cheddar, mozzarella, and Monterey Jack cheese to sprinkle on the chips. Once the cheese is grated, put a layer of chips on the bottom of the dish. We’re using a dish so layering is easier this way. If you use a cookie sheet, then you might want to do one good layer if it’s not super high. We’ve chosen the round smaller corn chips for these nachos. Now you can sprinkle all three cheeses on top and then another layer of chips and then another layer of cheese. You might want to add another few layers depending on how many people you are feeding. Broil on low and remove once the cheese is melted. Make sure you keep your eye on the nachos. They tend to broil fast and you don’t want burnt nachos.

Fully Loaded Nachos

These ones have quite a few toppings on them and you can even add more than what we did. First of all, you want to cook any topping that need cooking and cut up any toppings that need cutting and of course grate your cheese.

We are using bacon bits and ground beef, so we are going to cook those first. Fry the bacon in bits and cook until crisp. Then you can cook up your ground beef. Add a little bit of salt and pepper for flavouring or you can use seasoning salt instead. Put those aside after they are cooked. If you prefer chicken, feel free to cook up some chicken to spread on top.

Next chop up any veggies that you plan on using. We’re keeping it simple and just using some firm Roma tomatoes and green onions, but you can use popular things like jalapenos, peppers, black olives, beans etc. Make sure to cut them up in smaller bite size pieces.

Lastly before putting it all together, grate the cheese. You can use Monterey Jack because it’s gooey and will hold all the ingredients together or if you like cheddar better, then feel free to use that or you can combine the two.

Now we’re gonna do as we did before. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil, get a tin foil plate, or use a flat Corningware dish. Do a layer of chips. You will probably want to use the big restaurant style chips as they’re bigger for all those toppings to go on top of.

Then sprinkle the topping on with a bit of cheese and if you’re doing it in a dish then place another layer of chips on top and more of the toppings and a good layer of cheese. Broil in the oven on low until they are nicely baked and then serve warm and cheesy.

You can put some sour cream on the side as well as guacamole or some salsa. We usually get the salsa from the jar, but sometimes when I have some free time I like to make my fresh homemade salsa. I provided the recipe below if you want to give it a try.

Homemade Salsa

This recipe makes about 4 cups of salsa

You will need...

2 medium on the vine red tomatoes

2 medium on the vine orange tomatoes

2 medium on the vine yellow tomatoes

*If you can’t find or prefer to only use the red tomatoes, then that’s fine. I’ve only made it with red tomatoes.

1 small red onion

1 crushed garlic clove

2 jalapeno peppers

¼ cup of chopped cilantro

Juice of 2 limes

Pinch of sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

How to...

Remove all of the seeds and insides of the tomatoes and chop into small bite size pieces. Place them in a large bowl. Then combine the rest of the finely chopped ingredients into the bowl with the tomatoes and toss. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so that all of the flavours can meld together. I like to make it the night before and then you can really taste all of the flavours the next day when you eat it. It’s great with nachos but it also tastes good on burgers, grilled meats, chicken and in wraps, omelettes, quesadillas, burritos.

Links

Here are a few links to some nacho recipes and cool toppings...

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/entertaining/photos/nacho-recipes-you-need-to-try/#!victory-lap-nachos

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/best-nacho-recipes_us_58935512e4b070cf8b810a44

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/50-nachos