What do you get when football and hatch chiles are back? Nachos.

Gloriously, gooey nachos worthy of two of the best seasons-within-a-season that I can think of.

Last week, we had the Broncos game and Hatch Chile & Chicken Nachos on the menu. A messy, as-easy-to-make-as-it-was-to-eat spread totally worthy of the return of football.

Real football.

Who’s your team? If you’ve been here seasons past, you know I’m an old Oilers-turned-Colts fan (we all deal with loss in our own ways). And that the 3rd happiest day of my life was when Houston was awarded a new team in the form of the Texans. The Shawnda Super Bowl happened twice a year when the Texans and Colts met and life was perfect.

But then things went and got… weird.

And those things are still kind of weird. Because you can’t just unweird 14 years worth of nonweird.

So now I find myself keeping up with the Broncos. And not just because of the highly-frequented highway of players and staff that tend to move between them and the Texans.

My favorite player from my other favorite team is now with a whole ‘nother different team and now I have to keep up with 3 real teams and 3 fantasy teams. Talk about a total First World Problem.

A problem that nachos can’t fix… but that cheesy drip down the front of a new shirt can temporarily make you not care as much about where Peyton is calling plays. And it can almost make you stop kicking yourself for not renewing your Texans season tickets 4 years ago.

Okay, nachos aren’t THAT magical.

But good luck this Sunday! And Monday. And Thursday. Hope your teams win! Unless they’re playing one of my three. Or I’m up against one of your guys in fantasy. And then I hope THEY GO DOWN HARD.

And really – I need an extra hour to pregame just to make myself believe that I can keep up with it all 🙂

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Hatch Chile and Chicken Nachos

Hatch chile con queso, leftover shredded chicken, and pico de gallo team up for a monster pan of nachos that is completely worthy for the start of of football season.

Ingredients

• For the hatch chile con queso:
• 12 oz white American cheese, grated*
• 4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, grated**
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 lb hatch chiles, roasted, seeded, and chopped (directions here)
• For the nachos:
• 14 oz bag tortilla chips ("restaurant thins" not recommended)
• 2 cups leftover shredded chicken breast (~2 breasts)
• For the pico de gallo
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
• 1/3 cup red onion
• Small handful of cilantro
• 1 lime (1/2 juiced, the other half cut into wedges and reserved)
• Pinch of salt
• *Look for it at the deli counter; typically comes in Land O'Lakes or house brands.
• **Do not buy pre-grated cheese.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. Spread the tortilla chips in an even layer in a large (11x17) baking pan.
3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, add the milk.
4. When hot, add the cheese and stir occasionally until mostly melted smooth.
5. Add ~3/4 of the diced hatch chiles, a generous pinch of salt, and stir until uniform (if it looks too thick, add a bit more milk - it should be just a little thinner than queso-dip consistency).
6. Pour the cheese over chips and top with shredded chicken and the remaining hatch chiles.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes to heat through.
8. While the nachos are baking, stir the ingredients of the pico de gallo together and set aside.
9. Best served immediately, topped with the pico de gallo and extra lime wedges squeezed over top.
10. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave in individual servings (although, I'm partial to cold, soggy nachos myself).

Notes

Yields: Servings vary

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Estimated time: 25 minutes