Recipe: Chile Con Carne Nachos

All of Dallas has been iced in over the weekend, with no signs of thawing.  With hazardous road conditions, I've had to curb my weekend grocery runs in favor of pantry and freezer meals.

I made this Seven Chile Texas Chili from the Homesick Texan a while back.  I'm not much of a chili con carne person, but loved the flavors from the chiles!  However, since the recipe called for 4 lbs of chuck, we had a LOT of leftover chili in the freezer.

When life hands you chili...make chili cheese nachos!

I love nachos as a kitchen-sink sort of dish.  Tortilla chips and cheese are great vehicles to help using up odds and ends of chopped vegetables.  This is a highly adaptable recipe.  For a vegetarian-friendly nacho, top the nachos with black beans and roasted corn instead of chile con carne.

Here, I use the microwave instead of the oven or broiler to melt the cheese.  Since I'm usually cooking for one or two, the microwave is fine for a smaller portion.  If you're making a lot of nachos, using the oven would certainly be more efficient.  

RECIPE:  Chile Con Carne Nachos

Serves 2-3 as a large snack

4-6 oz tortilla chips (about 1/4 or 1/3 of a 16 oz bag)

Chili con carne (other options: vegetarian chili, leftover beans)

1 chopped tomato (canned diced tomatoes are okay as well)

1/2 finely chopped onion (or substitute finely sliced green onions or shallots)

Shredded cheddar cheese to taste (start with around 1/2 cup)

Optional toppings:

1/4 bunch finely chopped cilantro

Sliced jarred pickled jalapenos

Jarred salsa or hot sauce

Sour cream or plain yogurt

Directions:

Spread chips in a thin layer on a serving plate (if using microwave -- you may need to use 2 plates if you're using dinner-sized plates) or baking sheet (if using oven).  Crumble chili con carne over chips in a thin layer -- try to make sure the chips are evenly covered.  Then scatter chopped tomato, onion and cheese over the top.  

Microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until cheese is melted.  Alternately, place in oven under broiler for 1-2 minutes.  Top with optional toppings -- here, I used a few jarred salsas, plain yogurt and a few extra dashes of Tapatio.  And I took a few bites before I remembered to snap a photo!

These are my current favorite jarred salsas -- Papalote's salsa will always have a special place in my heart, but when in Texas...

Zukali Salsas are local (based out of McKinney, Texas) and have have some fantastically robust flavors.  If you're in Texas, Central Market carries their products.