Life is crazy when you have a house full of kids. Sometimes on Saturdays you have to improvise for meals, especially during football season when no one wants to miss a game to go to the grocery store. One Saturday my children and their friends wanted nachos but I didn’t have any chili or regular tortilla chips. I looked in the fridge and all I saw was chicken, BBQ sauce, buffalo wing sauce, coleslaw, celery, and blue cheese dressing. Next, I looked in the pantry and the only chips were the individual lunchbox-size bags of tortilla chips in cool ranch and nacho cheese flavor. Consequently, two new flavors of game day nachos were invented that day.
Game Day Nachos
Buffalo Chicken Nachos:
1 and 1/2 cups buffalo wing sauce
1/2 cup water
4 cups shredded cooked chicken
8 cups ranch flavored tortilla chips
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup sliced celery
Blue cheese dressing
Preheat oven to 475ºF. Bring buffalo wing sauce and water to a simmer. Add 4 cups of shredded cooked chicken. Heat through. Place ranch flavored tortilla chips on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Top with buffalo wing chicken. Sprinkle 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese on top. Bake in upper third of oven 5-7 minutes or until cheese melts. Garnish with chopped celery and blue cheese dressing. Makes 4 servings.
Barbeque Nachos:
1 and 1/2 cups BBQ sauce
1/2 cup water
4 cups shredded cooked chicken
8 cups nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Carolina coleslaw, drained (Recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 475ºF. Bring 1 and 1/2 cups BBQ sauce and water to a simmer. Add shredded cooked chicken. Heat through. Place 8 cups nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Top with BBQ chicken. Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top. Bake in upper third of oven 5-7 minutes or until cheese melts. Garnish lightly with drained Carolina coleslaw. Makes 4 servings.
Carolina Coleslaw
1 pound angel hair coleslaw
1 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Mix slaw, carrots, onion and green pepper together in a large bowl. In a non-aluminum saucepan add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and pour over slaw mixture. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until cold before serving.
