I guess I’m not sure if this is something to brag about, but Ben and I are total nacho connoisseurs.

Right. While some people know wine, we know nachos. And wine, I suppose, but you know what I mean. Well, I guess we know what wines taste good to us, but does that make us actual wine connoisseurs?

#deepthoughts

After several years of hard work and dedication, we’ve successfully identified which restaurants and bars around town layer their nachos to achieve the optimal chip to toppings ratio, which ones serve the ideal mix of both shredded cheese and cheese sauce, and which ones top their tortilla chips with chicken that tastes like hot dogs and should be avoided at all costs.

It happened.

Anywho, while we love to seek out the very best our town has to offer, it’s also fun to concoct plates of crunchy, hot and cheesy nachos in the comfort of our own kitchen.

Whether we line up fresh toppings nacho bar style, fill our chips to the brim with wacky ingredients, or even bake our own tortilla chips for an ultra-flavorful crunch, making our own nacho platter is little more budget and waistline friendly then ordering out every time we’re hit with a hankering.

Not to mention, making nachos at home allows us to get creative with fun, fusion dishes like Cheeseburger Nachos with Special Sauce!

Oh yeah! All the makings of a yummy, fire-grilled cheeseburger with “special sauce” on crunchy, homemade flour tortilla chips. So freaking delish!

Cheeseburger Nachos with Special Sauce

Print this recipe!

Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 burrito-sized flour tortillas (look for thicker tortillas)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon Thousand Island dressing
1/3lb lean ground beef
salt & pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Toppings:
shredded lettuce
white onion, shredded
tomato, chopped
pickles, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut flour tortillas into 8 wedges each, then place on a foil-lined, non-stick sprayed baking sheet and spray the tops with more non-stick spray. Bake for 3-4 minutes, or until wedges are slightly toasted and just starting to turn golden brown.
2. Meanwhile, place ground beef in a pan on the stovetop over medium-high heat, season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder, and brown. Drain, then return to the pan.
3. Mix together ketchup and Thousand Island dressing in a small bowl, then spread 1/2 teaspoon of the sauce onto each toasted tortilla wedge. Top with ground beef and cheddar cheese, then bake for 4-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
4. Top hot nachos with optional toppings and serve immediately.

Ok, Cheeseburger Nachos were either going to work, or fail miserably, but guess what? They totally worked! I suppose all that taste testing to achieve nacho expert status paid off. PS how amazing would that title be on a business card, i’mjustsayin’.

The nachos tasted exactly like a cheeseburger, complete with special sauce made from ketchup and Thousand Island dressing, and Ben and I each licked our plates clean. Total repeater!

In other news, I’m off to enjoy a glass of that aforementioned wine I know so much about, with cold, fresh pineapple bobbing inside, while working on some freelance projects tonight. You know, just KICK (keepin’ it classy, kids!)

See ya!

~~~~~

Wine poll: Red, or white? During the week, or just for weekends?

I love a good cabernet, but prefer a not-too-sweet white in the hot spring and summer months. I also used to be adamant about not drinking a drop of alcohol during the week, since I get up so early, but I’ve found that one glass is a nice way to relax at night, and has no effect on me in the a.m.!