What I loved about this particular nacho treat is that, for me, it's different. I always feasted on this big pile of corn chips, stacked up like a mountain, and either drizzled or layered with the other typical ingredients, beans, cheese and whatever else (depending on the flavor of nachos you want to enjoy).
The Chuy's nachos was a surprise to me. The corn chips were laid out individually and the toppings were not scattered on top. Each chip had all the selected toppings. Each chip was an awesome bite with everything, like a little piece of pizza, loaded.
Instead of ordering Chuy's Nachos every time I had a yearning for nachos, I decided to make them myself. Here's the recipe I came up with and believe me, it's good. Maybe not as good as Chuy's, but my version is tasty and certainly does satisfy the nacho yearn. Here's my recipe for Chicken Nachos. Be ready for New Year's Day. Get up and go buy the ingredients right after the game today.
Mom's Chicken Nachos
Ingredients:
Big bag of tortilla chips
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic, crushed
6 green onions, sliced
1 jalapeño, sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 large can Rosarita refried pinto beans
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1/2 large tomato, diced
Some cilantro leaves
Small can of sliced olives
Guacamole*
Your favorite salsa*
Directions:
Wash chicken, cut into small cube bite-size pieces. Fill saucepan with water, bring to boil, add chicken, reduce heat to medium; do not cover. Boil chicken for 10-15 minutes until cooked through. (Use meat thermometer, if necessary.) Strain and drain.
Be sure to use gloves. Wash jalapeño, cut off top stem, clean off seeds, slice.
In your favorite skillet, sauté and stir garlic, green onion and jalapeño slices in olive oil over medium heat. Stir in chicken cubes, tomato, olives, salt and pepper.
In another skillet, heat beans to bubbly; be careful not to burn.
Butter each chip with beans, dollop each chip with cooked chicken and onion mixture, pieces of black olives.
Place next to each other on baking sheet. Don't pile on or let the chips overlap.
Carefully top each chip with cheese. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted.
Remove from heat and sprinkle with cilantro before serving.
Serve with salsa, guacamole and sour cream for convenient dipping or spooning.
* Instead of guacamole, it's fast and easy to use fresh avocado and just cube it. Also, if you haven't tried Guy Fieri Salsa Verde, it's worth the few dollars to delight your mouth.
Tip: You can buy pre-cooked fajita chicken, cube it up. That works, too. You can also make your own pinto beans, but the can works well for quick and few serving recipes.
It may seem like a lot of trouble to butter and dollop each chip, but it really isn't. Each "chip" bite is divine, and how many bites can you eat, anyway? It's so worth your time. In fact, it's the only way to eat Chicken Nachos; you get the "whole" bite and nothing but the bite -- absolutely no ingredient is missing. You get to savor all the flavors. Yum, double and triple yum.
It's perfect for New Year's day because it will start your year off with grins, smiles and plenty of mouthwatering pleasure.