National Nachos Day

By Diane Forrest,

When my mother's sister graduated from college she, along with a couple of friends, decided to move to Texas to begin their teaching carrears.  Texas is famous for many things, and on thing is the Tex-Mex food.  When my aunt would come home to Mississippi for visits, she would bring her knowledge of Tex-Mex food with her and share with the rest of us.  On one of these visits she made a simple dish called Nachos.  She placed round tortilla chips on a baking sheet, topped with shredded cheese and a round slice of japaleno pepper in the center.  She placed them in the oven until the cheese melted.  I took one bite and was hooked.  That pan of tasty treats didnt last long before they were all gobbled up.

Now we have a place called Taco Bell.  You can order something called Nacho Supreme and get a plate with tortilla chips, refried beans, ground beef, lettuce, tomatos, and sour cream and enjoy a little slice of Heaven.

Nachos are a popular corn based food of Mexican origin associated with Tex-Mex cuisine that can be either made quickly to serve as a snack or prepared with more ingredients to make a full meal. In their simplest form, nachos are tortilla chips or totopos covered in melted cheese. First created circa 1943 by Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya, the original nachos consisted of fried corn tortillas covered with melted cheddar cheese and pickled jalapeño peppers

Today you can find nachos almost anywhere.  They are available in restaurants, movie theaters, malls and sporting events.  Today is National Nachos Day, so if you don't have a place in your area where you can pick some up, try this great recipe from Paula Deen, and enjoy some Nachos today

Paul Deen Macho Nachos

Ingredients

• 1 can refried beans
• 1 large bag white corn tortilla chips
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack
• 1 jalapeno, sliced crosswise, plus extra for garnish
• 1 can chili, or your favorite chili recipe
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup green onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, diced

Directions

Have all the prepped ingredients easily accessible to assemble nachos.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, cook refried beans until they are loose enough to spoon onto nachos.
2. On a large ovenproof platter, spread out a layer of tortilla chips and quickly put a teaspoon of hot refried beans on each chip.
3. Working quickly, sprinkle with some onions, jack cheese, and jalapeno slices. Spoon on chili and top that with Cheddar.
4. Repeat this layering process until ingredients are used up.
5. Save some of the jalapeno slices for garnish.
6. Place platter in the oven and bake until cheese has melted, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a trivet or heatproof surface. Top nachos with sour cream, green onions, diced tomato and jalapeno slices and serve hot.