Friday 17 July 2020

Mr P.'s Nachos Bake

When I first met Mr P., he lived in a share-house with a couple of young and untutored females.  Untutored in the sense of not having any training in cooking or keeping house; he even taught them how to change a lightbulb!  And he taught them how to cook.  (I'm always stunned when female friends tell me their hubbies don't cook.  Quelle horreur!)  Anyways, he is a fab cook, and does his very fair share of the household meals.  He also is the rice and pasta man of the house.  And the frying man ... I never do those:-)  

Funny story about Mr P.: he was always surrounded by women - his housemates, me and various friends.  He basically ran the roost, and his mates referred to his 'harem' :-)  It was quite the party house.  Myself and one of his housemates worked at a university library, so we 'knew' a lot of students.  We'd put up a flyer on the library counter, and come party night, there would be a hundred (or more) students turning up.  Oh those were the days!  I must dig out some photos ... And yes, he's still surrounded by women - four sisters, his lady workers (tee hee), me and lots of friends.



crunchy, tasty nachos

Serves 4 hungry eaters:



ingredients:


1 packet (175g./6 oz) corn chips

1 jar (375g./13 oz) thick and chunky salsa - make sure you  buy a gluten-free version if it's a problem

1 tin (400g./14 oz) red kidney beans, drained

310g. (2½ cups) tasty cheese, grated

250g. (8 oz) cooked chicken or ham or savoury mince or tofu chunks 

1 firm avocado (ripe is not good here), cut into chunks

2 spring onions/shallots/scallions, chopped

2 tbs pickled jalapeno chillies - optional

1-2 tsp chilli powder (I used a mild Korean gochugaru) - optional

1 bunch fresh coriander leaves, chopped

salt and ground black pepper to taste

sour cream for serving (optional)


Method:


Grab a baking tray (31cm x 25cm x 5cm) and line with baking paper


Place half the packet of corn chips (about 88g.) over the baking paper

Spoon over 1/4 of the jar of salsa

Tip the tin of kidney beans over the salsa

Sprinkle on 3/4 cup (185g./6½ oz) cheese

Now layer the chicken (or ham or mince) over the cheese

On goes another 1/4 jar of the salsa

Sprinkle on the ½-1 tsp chilli powder if using

Add half the bunch of coriander/cilantro, then another 3/4 cup (185g.) of cheese

Next you add the other half packet of corn chips, and another 1/4 jar of salsa

Cast on the spring onions, the jalapenos, and the rest of the fresh coriander

Now you add the diced avocado, and the last quarter jar of salsa

Another ½-1 tsp of chilli powder, some salt and pepper, and cover the whole shebang with the rest of your cheese (which should be about 1 cup) - maybe add a bit more grated cheese if it looks too naked on top.  Mr P. felt it needed even more, but he is a man of excess:-)

Bake at 210C/410F for about 20-25 minutes till golden

Dollop on some sour cream, if you're feeling daring


Notes:

Use gluten-free salsa if you need to


Rinse the kidney beans if you want to get rid of the salty goop:-)

Try tofu in place of chicken, etc for a vego. version

A ripe avocado won't go so well here, as it will soften too much in the baking - use a firm (even very firm) one

The baking tray is something like 12 x 10 x 2 inches




start layering - corn chips and salsa on the go

we used this


on goes the first lot of cheese

Mr P. chops the chook


then add the chicken


then there's salsa and chilli flakes

and fresh coriander

and more corn chips and avocado ...


ready for the oven 


ready for eating after 20-25 mins. @ 210C/410F


smother in sour cream


Mr P. about to devour his dinner

Let's face it: Mr P. is a building designer, and therefore a real detail man (unlike me, who sees the overall picture), so when he says to follow his directions for this dish - do so, my friends!  He says the layering is important, so take him at his word.



    artwork © Sherry's Pickings

Oh yes, and here's me, a few (tee hee) years ago ...


me in my younger days at one of Mr P.'s outrageous parties

This is a 1950's Californian bathing suit that I found in an op shop years ago.  How it got to Australia is anybody's guess!  Those were the good old days when ladies were busty:-) so I used to be able to find heaps of great clothes from the 50's.


50 comments:

  1. I love dishes like this! I make something a bit similar sometimes. I'll be sure to follow the instructions to the letter when I make Mr P's version. Great picture of you in your younger days! Those parties sound like fun. :-)

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    1. thanks so much KR! we had some fabulous parties!!

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  2. Lots of amazing layers there! This is a casserole after my own heart and I want some for my dinner too :-) You have long sexy legs, Sherry...

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    1. thanks angie. i think i've shrunk over the years :-)

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  3. So many good memories and boy, does that look tasty! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  4. Wow,that is the best comfort food ever, looks incredibly good! Stay safe and healthy everyone ☺

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  5. Because of the calories, tee hee, we don't do nachos very often these days but it always tastes so very good doesn't it? This looks great as a complete meal however I will add the avo after it is cooked I think. I worked in a Uni libraries as well, first up when I was studying to be a librarian and then later on for a long time after working in a few other kinds of libraries. I have to say those first few years were great fun when I was the same age as the students. Great photo.

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    1. yes indeed we had tremendous fun when the same age as the students. it was just one big party! the firm avo works well in the nachos; we don't like it cooked usually either, but here it works as long as the avo is very firm.

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  6. OK, I have to start with a photo of you! That is fantastic! I’m sure we were partying at about the same time…

    This is the perfect dish for a party. And I can’t wait until we can have even a small party again. We are still in complete lockdown, especially in Arizona, where the virus is at its worst. I am thinking this will be my life for the next year. :( by the way, I think it’s amazing that you can get Old El Paso salsa there!

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    1. hi david
      thanks so much! we were partying in the 80s! oh dear still in lockdown? things have opened up here in queensland but the other states are in various degrees of it... terrible times! yep old el paso is quite the brand here.

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    2. Oh, yes - I was partying on the 80s, too. Quite the times then! Yes, I am afraid that, for a while, Arizona was the worst in the world. Now surpassed only by Florida. SO sad. And, with Mark's health issues, I am thinking I will be in lockdown for another year (until they have a vaccine).

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    3. hi again
      yes my hubby is disabled so we have to be careful of his health too. i think QLD will have a second wave too like the other States are starting to have here. Those poor Victorians!

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  7. Wowee those look good! Saving this recipe for sure. Thanks for sharing it. Loved the story about Mr. P and his Harem. Always fun to see old photos of our wild and crazy selves, isn't it?

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    1. hi jinjer
      i hope you like this dish! oh yes it is fun but scary to see old photos ... :-)

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  8. Look at you in your dress! Hottie! And Mr P seems like a kind, thoughtful soul, I'm not surprised that women gravitated towards him.

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    1. oh thanks lorraine! i was a bit cute in my younger, thinner days:) and yes Mr P is a very kind soul!

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  9. What a great party dish! My husband cooks a few things, but I'm not I would call him a cook. However, he always makes awesome salads.

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    1. hi judee
      yes this would go down well as a dish at a buffet-type dinner! good to hear your hubby makes good salads:)

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  10. I am very lucky that my husband loves to cook so he does most of our cooking, although we do "encourage" my 21 year old son to cook at least one night a week. We do a pork nacho's dish that is full of vegies to get our nachos fix. It's one of the dishes on our regular meal rotation.

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    1. hi marg
      we don't have this often, but we always love it when we do! i think every human should know how to cook; it's essential:-)

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  11. Love the bits of personal history here! It's fun to look back and remember the good old days. (And wonder how we had the energy!)
    My husband is a great cook, too, but he's prejudiced against "casseroles" due to the ones his mother made with canned soups when he was young, I guess. I don't think this would count, though, and we do have two bags of tortilla chips which we haven't opened yet, because once they're open, they're gone!

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    1. i've taken note of what you said, and changed the name. it's not actually a casserole at all, is it? :)

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  12. What a guy! And his recipe looks great, especially for when there's a bit of cooked chicken waiting on inspiration.

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    1. yep that's what we used - some leftover roasted chicken. but you can use whatever you have lying around really.

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  13. Your photos are very delicious-looking. The great thing about Mexican-ish cooking is how those same ingredients go together in many ways.

    Your recipes often inspire me: see today's post for an image of your rice pudding -- https://maefood.blogspot.com/2020/07/summer-food-drink.html

    be well... mae

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    1. Thanks Mae. Very kind of you to say. I appreciate your visit and your lovely comments.
      cheers
      sherry
      and keep safe.

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  14. Haha! I love that you shared that story and those photos, Sherry. :-) It's fun to go on a trip down memory lane and look at old photos. You should definitely dig up more party pics! In the meantime, though, these nachos sound amazing. Mr. P really is quite the chef! I could get behind these with a cold beer and a good movie on tv.

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    1. hi david
      ooh yes i have lots! of party photos. be careful what you wish for, my friend. Yep hubby is a good cook!

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  15. I am so glad you posted this recipe. You had mentioned his casserole before I was wanting to try it.
    What a cool story about your past and do I ever love that old bathing suit!
    My husband cooks too, lots of instant pot and grilled stuff. It's good to have a partner in the kitchen.

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    1. thanks Tina. isn't it a fab bathing suit? and yep great to have a partner in the kitchen, indeed!

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  16. This dip looks amazing! All we need is a cold beer and its heaven! Great recipe!

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    1. definitely not a dip:-) But thanks for the compliment.

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  17. It's always fun to learn more about the lives of blogger we love to follow. It's also always fun to see a new regional twist to another regional food such as nachos. This is a must try dish for me as it combines many of my favorite foods.

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  18. It looks irresistable! but it's not good for my diet tho :/

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  19. Oh my God that photo of you is fabulous. These nachos are party food galore! My husband has never cooked. I don't know how he survived before we met. A lot of processed food, I imagine.

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    1. thanks so much jeff. we did get up to some mischief back in the day.

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  20. How fun! What a lady's man you married! Loving this version of nachos!

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  21. Looks so delicious! I would prefer this over the usual nachos, specially with that melting cheese on top

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  22. Harem! Hee hee! I guess my hubby had one of those too as he grew up with his mum and his sister although now Teddy Roosevelt balances out the testosterone! I have one of those hubbys who can't (or more likely won't) cook but it all pans out well because I love cooking. This looks right up our eat street and we have a similar recipe but a vegetarian version. I love the idea of the avocado and might just have to give this a go! Side note: I think we need to see more uni photos:)

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    1. thanks sammie. i actually do have lots of old photos! i will hunt them up! tee hee ...

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  23. Hi guys. I was one of his harem! Gosh we had fun in those days. Those parties remain my favourite memory. I danced ALL night. Not anymore... I arrived in the house totally ignorant of even the basics just as Sherry has said and I am eternally grateful that by chance my life's path took me into their sphere and they took me under their wings. Thank you my friends. They remain my greatest friends. Ahh the 80s. Would that I could go back. The good old days. Stay safe stay well everyone

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    Replies
    1. we did indeed have fun! it seems soooo very long ago and yet not... time flies.

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