So it’s been a while since I’ve posted. I have been busy getting my business up and running, staged a home, have done some consulting for 3 other homes and have a few more jobs on the books for the next few weeks. It’s exciting times around here and I am sorry for my absence. I’d thought I could make up for it by posting a new recipe, does that work for you? We had our 2nd annual neighborhood progressive dinner this past Saturday and I knew just what to make, chicken nachos!
A few years back a friend made these awesome chicken nachos and I fell hard for them. Then she shared the recipe and I thought, there is no way I am doing all this work for those nachos. So I cheated a little and have my own take on this recipe. Here is the original food network version. If you have the time and energy to make these the “correct” way I am sure they are fabulous and you can share them with me. I like sharing especially when people share food with me. I may not like sharing when I have to give my food to you, I can yield a fork with the best of them so watch it.
Now for my cheating version this is what you will need:
Rotisserie Chicken – Finely shredded ( I use my kitchen aid for this)
2 C of Salsa Verde – I switched up from my usual Pace Green Salsa and this Mission style was disappointing to me, not enough flavor. I try to find a version that has these key ingredients in it: tomatillos, jalepenos, onions, garlic, lime and cilantro.
1/4 C Unsalted Butter
1/4 C Flour
2 C Chicken Stock not broth but STOCK
4 C Shredded Jack Cheese
1 tsp or 2 of Lime Juice
Fresh Cilantro
Dash of Cumin Seeds
Make a rue by melting butter and then sprinkling in the flour, stirring constantly. Cook and whisk for 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat. If you don’t know how to make a rue or even what a rue is, you can check out this post with pictures to walk you through.
I suggest having your 2 cups of chicken stock and 4 cups of cheese ready to go nearby. Here is the flour, stock and whisk just waiting to do their job.
So the butter is melted, the flour is sprinkled in and we’ve got our whisk all ready to go!
Have you ever tried to photograph yourself while making a rue? My suggestion is don’t unless you like getting burned with hot rue and it also makes crappy photos for your blog post.
When your rue is kind of thick and lovely, it’s time to slowly add in some chicken stock.
After lots of whisking, it will start to look like this, smooth and creamy lovelyness.
So keep adding the broth and whisking away until the stock is all added, then simmer and whisk some more for 8 minutes.
When your arm is ready to fall off, then it’s time to add the cheese. The trick is to fold the cheese in and if you don’t know what folding means, check this out.
Once all the cheese is folded in, it’s time to add the green salsa and chicken!
Now your food will start to look unappealing, perhaps resembling something you would feed your dog.
At this point it’s time to taste test. I add in one tsp of lime juice, taste it again and add some more if I feel it needs a little more zing. I also add the chopped fresh cilantro and maybe a few extra jalepenos from my jar of goodness.
Here is what they look like spread over some tortilla chips, they still don’t look pretty but really they are so yummy!!!
I purchased some fresh salsa from Wal-mart ( I know this is a sin but don’t hurt me but I was not up for making salsa at this point), some tasters of the fresh salsa thought it was better than Trader Joe’s salsa. Too bad I didn’t get a picture of the nachos with fresh salsa but we were busy stuffing our face. I guess I’ll have to make these again soon so I can take a photo of the “finished” product.
A few notes: I like to put this in the crockpot for gatherings so it stays warm and people can just scoop out however much they like. The Food Network version has you put these on chips and layer it and put in the oven. People complained that the chips got soggy after a few minutes so I don’t assemble the nachos this way. You can also add sour cream, lettuce, fresh salsa, more jalepenos, whatever you want to your nacho creation.
