Nachos Individuales

It's a Sunday.  During the fall.  Do you know what that means?  Football, of course!  Being Bostonians, we are Patriots fans and each week, we gather at la casa de Schmambs for some Football!  And what does Schmambs feed the masses that gather at her house?  Buffalo wings and nachos, of course.  Although, typically, Will makes the nachos since Schmambs slaves away all afternoon making the wings.  This particular Sunday though, Will decided to let the women make the nachos since there were two of us and only one of him.  Twice the work in half the time.  In reality, the Pats were probably playing really well and he didn't want to get pulled away.

What are nachos without fresh guacamole?  Bland.  That's what.  So we made guacamole.

When you order nachos at a restaurant, it's usually a pile of tortilla chips with the toppings thrown on top.  That's great and all, but when you get to the bottom pile, there isn't anything left to eat with your chip.  No gracias.  Will devised the best of all worlds.  Individual Nachos.  He uses Tostitos Scoops so that each chip is filled with all the yummu goodness that you would typically find on nachos.  No chip is left unloved.  

In a saucepan, mix a can of refried beans with one packet of taco seasoning.  I believe Schmambs usually uses Ortega or Old El Paso brands.  Once the seasoning and beans are mixed and heated, scoop the beans into each Tostitos Scoop.

   

Schmambs usually uses a shredded Mexican blend of cheese from the grocery store.  Sprinkle a satisfying amount of the cheese blend on each nacho and once complete, throw it in the oven for a few minutes to allow the cheese to melt and to slightly toast the tortilla chips.

The guacamole that we made earlier was scooped into each chip as well as a generous dollop of sour cream too.  While the chips were in the oven, Schmambs had cut up the jalapeno peppers that were going to top our nachos to give it a nice kick as well as some crunchy texture.  The last time I tried to cut jalapeno peppers at la casa de Schmambs, she failed to tell me that soap would not get the spicy out of my fingers.  I learned the hard way when I tried to take my contacts out later that night.  Needless to say, Schmambs is now forever on jalapeno duty.  

We realized in hindsight, the nachos probably would've been more aesthetically pleasing if we had put the guacamole under the sour cream to break up the greens, but they still look delicious in their current state, don't they?

Individual Nachos

by Schmambs & Will

* bag of Tostitos Scoops Tortilla Chips

* 1 16oz can of Ortega Refried Beans

* 1 packet of Ortega or Old El Paso taco seasoning

* 1 package shredded Mexican blend cheese

* jalapeno peppers cut diced (optional)

* sour cream (optional)

* guacamole (optional)

* salsa (optional)

Pick through bag of chips and place all non-broken chips on cookie sheet.  Combine beans and taco seasoning and heat on stove.  When done heating, scoop beans into each individual chip until all chips are filled.  Sprinkle cheese on top of the beans and place cookie sheet in 300 degree oven for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Remove cookie sheet from oven and place desired toppings on nachos.  Serve while hot.