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Friday night as the parent of teens- it typically consists of an evening at home, either with extra teens here or awaiting the return of our own. If it’s a busy Friday, we typically order some sort of takeout. However, this past Friday was quieter, so there was time to make dinner. Being the start of the weekend, it seemed to me that the menu needed to consist of fun foods. No pasta dish or chicken dinner, a Friday night deserves a treat.
Nachos were the first dish to come to mind. My husband and I had found a restaurant that had fabulous pulled pork nachos a year or so go. Unfortunately, the first order of nachos was the only good order. We returned two other times, hoping for the same delicious appetizer. Both the second and third visits resulted in a lackluster tray of nachos. So, with the memory of tasty nachos, I decided to begin the Friday night menu.
My initial thought was to have chicken breasts simmer in a crockpot with barbecue sauce for the day. However, as I was thinking about this version of nachos, I thought of other sauces that could be fun to try with nachos: buffalo, hoisin, Thai sweet chili. With a variety of sauces it occurred to me that I simply could poach and shred the chicken and let each diner choose the sauce of his or her choice.
With chicken, sauces, an assortment of cheeses and garnishes, this was a fun and tasty custom order dinner, for very little work. I’m sure it will be a requested snack in the future.
- 1-1/2 lb. chicken breast, cooked & cooled*
- 8 oz. shredded cheddar or pepper jack
- tortilla chips
- sauces: buffalo, hoisin, barbecue
- Garnishes: scallions or tomatoes (diced),celery (minced), sour cream, salsa
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Dice chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.
- For each serving, place 1/2 cup of chicken in a small bowl.
- Top with desired sauce and mix well to combine.
- Spread 1 cup of tortilla chips on a baking sheet. Top with seasoned chicken.
- Sprinkle cheese on chicken.
- Place in oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- Transfer to plate and top with desired garnishes.
- *Poaching the breasts is ideal, as it will be tender and will not have crunchy pieces. However, if needed the chicken can be grilled or broiled and chopped more finely to minimize the crunchiness.
