Happy Wednesday, everyone!
For some reason the warmer it gets the busier things seem to become. I don’t know why that is, or if that’s just me, but it seems I’m in a bigger hurry to get food quickly during the spring. Finding quick, gluten-free options can be difficult. Fortunately, for years one of my go-to quick meals has been nachos; but my version of nachos is usually just cheese and chips. This is definitely not the healthiest go-to meal, but it works to stave off my hunger, at least for a little while.
Recently, I was discussing this very issue with my mom, and she told me something she had done to liven up her nachos. Put zucchini and salsa on them.
This may sound strange, but trust me, it is delicious! So, in the spirit of brevity, I will tell you how to assemble these delicious, inexpensive, and slightly healthier nachos.
Ingredients:
Corn chips
Zucchini, sliced and quartered
Cheddar cheese, shredded (Surprisingly, Wal-Mart brand pre-shredded cheese is gluten-free, other brands use gluten products to keep the cheese from clumping)
Salsa of choice (See extremely easey recipe below for the salsa I use)
Directions:
Arrange corn chips on a plate. Evenly distribute zucchini and cheese across the chips. Heat in the microwave until about half the cheese is melted (about 30 seconds). Remove from microwave and evenly distribute salsa across nachos. Heat again in microwave until cheese is completely melted (about 30 more seconds).
Viola! Delicious nachos for one!
If you want to make more than one serving, you can either make two separate plates, or you can bake the nachos in the oven. If going the oven route, simply place the oven on broil, cover a lipped baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil (for easier cleanup), assemble nachos on the baking sheet, and pop in the oven for 5 minutes or less. You don’t need to wait to add the salsa if you are using the oven method.
Copycat Chili’s Salsa
If you are like myself and my husband, you and whoever you eat with most often cannot agree on one kind of salsa.
Jeremy (my husband), is from Louisiana and spice runs through his veins, so he likes his salsa to burn him (he really likes habanero salsas, he even tried some ghost pepper salsa and liked it). I like spice, but Jeremy’s level of spice tends to hurt me more than provide me with appreciation for the flavor. As a result, we’ve always had to buy two different kinds of salsa. The only salsa we both really liked was served at Chili’s, but that didn’t really help us at home.
Until recently, that is.
I was perusing Pinterest and came across a recipe for copycat chili’s salsa (click here to see original recipe). It seemed easy, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try it out.
IT WORKED.
In my humble, but accurate, opinion this salsa is better than Chili’s, and it is cheaper to make than most salsas are to buy. The best news? BOTH Jeremy and I love it! So, without further ado, here it is:
2, 14.5 oz. cans whole tomatoes, drained (I usually just get one, 28 oz. can, it’s cheaper)
1, 4 oz. can diced or whole jalapenos (NOT PICKLED – this is very important because the pickling changes the taste. I found these in the Hispanic Food section at Kroger.)
1/4 cup yellow onion, quartered (I don’t usually measure this, I just cut off a chunk of onion and throw it in the blender)
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
Blend all of the of the ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. The End.
Super easy and tasty! You should know, however, that the longer the salsa sits, the spicier it gets. So if it’s not spicy enough for you right after you make it, try it again the next day, it will probably be more to your standards.
Hint: for more spice, use a bit more onion, for less, use a little less onion.
I hope you enjoy your delicious new nacho option!
Let me know if you have any comments and, as always,
Happy Eating!!
Oops, I blogged. 