Chicken Nachos

A few days ago, I found this recipe, for chicken nachos. It looked good to me, and as I've mentioned before, we love Mexican food, so I decided to make it this week. I tweaked the recipe quite a bit, so here's my version. In addition to swithing some ingredients, I don't have a crock pot big enough to cook this in. We had a huge one, but it broke. :( So, all I have is stove-top!

Instead of the canned corn the original recipe called for, I got Rylie to cut two ears of corn off the cob.

Ok, just kidding...we're not quite there yet.

I sauteed the corn in a little butter.

Ok, so maybe I used a lot of butter...

 Anything sauteed in butter makes the final dish better, right? I'm trying to figure out how I can saute the chocolate chips in butter for my cookies...

I added a little salt after the corn had been cooking a few minutes...

I added a large jar of salsa (24 oz, or somewhere around there,) you can use any kind of salsa you want...and adjust the spiciness of the final product as well, with the salsa. I used a mix of mild and medium, so that everyone would eat it!

1 can of green chilies....the original recipe said 2 oz, and I had a 4 oz can, so I did the only reasonable thing and dumped the whole can in. Yummy.

I thought it needed a can of this lime and cilantro Rotel, which I happen to be in love with. It makes everything better. :)

Now, taco seasoning...I added chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, and basil. I'm still trying to figure out why I added basil...so you can leave that one out! You don't have to buy pre-packaged taco seasoning when you have these standard spices on hand! I never measure these anymore, so I had the hardest time writing the recipe out!

Mix all of that up well, and then add 4 chicken breasts.

Mix the chicken with the sauce, cover and simmer for 3 or 4 hours.

I stirred it every 30 minutes or so, to make sure it wasn't sticking and to help break up the chicken. I added a little more salsa a couple times, to keep the consistency I wanted, and to keep it from getting too thick and sticking. Whe we were ready to eat, I made sure all the chicken was shredded and helped it along with a fork. I served it over chips, topped with sour cream, jalapenos, and I was planning on cilantro, but I forgot...I hate when I do that!

Here's the printable recipe! At least, I think that'll work...someone let me know!

BBQ Beef Dip

We're not really back into the swing of things, after getting back from Colorado. This cold that we have is running its course, and nearly everyone has been lucky enough to get at least a touch of it. With Mom and me both sick at the same time, we're not really up to cooking like usual. Besides, coming back from an almost 2 week vacation, where the only finger we lifted was to iron clothes...it's been a jolt back into reality here! So, readers, meet BBQ Beef Dip.

Yesterday morning, I asked the guys what they wanted for supper. (Mom's been in the bed a lot the last few days with her cold.) Dave suggested this beef dip, and it's easy, fast, and, let's face it, pretty darn convenient. There's practically nothing to do to make it. Considering our situation, that's exactly what I needed to make me happy.

So, here you are. I started out by browning 2 pounds of ground beef, seasoning with Tony Chachere's. You can season with whatever you'd like, but please, please do season! I just don't get it when I read a recipe with meat in it, and it says nothing about seasoning! So, whether you use salt and pepper, Tony's, or whatever you like, it doesn't really matter...just season!

After it's cooked, you can drain the yummy tastiness grease off, if you must. I didn't...this is the steer we raised, and I didn't see any reason to drain off the flavor. :)

You need to drain 2 large (28 oz) cans of petite diced tomatoes, and add them to the meat.

Next comes 2 cups of BBQ sauce. It would better if you had homemade, but when wouldn't it be better to have homemade anything?! I didn't...I used store-bought BBQ sauce. And don't even try to find a brand that has nothing bad for you in it...it ain't gonna happen. At least not at our store!

Add 2 tablespoons...or so...more or less...of Dijon mustard. As you can see, I didn't measure! As you can also see, I missed the action shot of adding the mustard. I'm still not quite sure how to time everything right when my camera doesn't actually shoot when I pull the trigger....or mash the button.

And that's it! I mixed it up and let it simmer for a little while while I got the rest of the fixins ready. It thickens up a bit that way, too...any juice in the tomatoes can evaporate, etc.

I cut up green onions... (By the way, I took 11 pictures of cut green onions, trying to get one I was happy with. I need HELP!)

I grated some cheese... This is cheddar, minus the annatto. With annatto works, too.

And now it's simmered for a little while and it's a little thicker, and Dad's hungry!

We served the dip with tortilla chips, green onions, cheese, jalapenos, and sour cream...

It's yummy!

Printable recipe