Chicken Chili Nachos -- When the Game Is Just the Excuse

February. The Super Bowl was yesterday and we watched it the way we watch everything: at home, together, with food that is the real event and football that is the excuse. I made buffalo wings — fried, sauced, served with celery sticks and ranch and blue cheese (because the buffalo wing debate is not ranch vs. blue cheese, it is ranch AND blue cheese, and I will not be forced to choose between two good things when I can have both). Tyler ate seventeen wings, which I know because Justin counted, and the counting was either competitive intelligence or fraternal surveillance, and the distinction is irrelevant when the result is the same: Tyler ate seventeen wings and Justin ate sixteen and neither of them won because there was no contest except the one they created in their own heads.

I got my second vaccine dose Wednesday. The same clinic, the same chair, the same Band-Aid. I felt fine the next morning, achey by noon, exhausted by dinner. Dave made dinner — he microwaved leftover chili, which is not cooking but is functional, and functional is what Dave offers when I am down, and the offering is enough. I was back on the road Friday. The road does not stop for vaccine side effects. The road does not stop for anything.

The cookbook proposal is nearly done. I have written descriptions of forty-two recipes — road recipes and home recipes, the dual kitchens of a life lived in a truck cab and a Nebraska ranch house. The proposal has a section called 'The Truck Cab Kitchen,' a section called 'The Home Kitchen,' and a section called 'The Kitchen That Doesn't Exist Yet,' which is about the diner — Darla's — the restaurant I am going to open someday, the place where the two kitchens merge. The agent says the proposal is strong. I do not know what strong means in publishing. I know what strong means on the road and in the kitchen and in the raising of four children, and if it means the same thing — sturdy, reliable, built to hold weight — then strong is what I have been my whole life.

Seventeen wings is a lot of wings — and next year, I’m making these Chicken Chili Nachos alongside them, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned feeding four kids through a Nebraska winter, it’s that the table needs more than one anchor. Nachos have the same spirit as buffalo wings: communal, competitive, impossible to eat just one. And with the cookbook proposal nearly done — road recipes, ranch recipes, the diner I’m still building in my head — this is exactly the kind of recipe that belongs in all three kitchens.

Chicken Chili Nachos

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 bag (13–16 oz) tortilla chips
• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
• 1 can (15 oz) chili with beans
• 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup pickled jalapeño slices
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
2. Season the chicken. Toss the shredded chicken with cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper until evenly coated.
3. Build the base layer. Spread tortilla chips in an even layer across the prepared baking sheet, overlapping as little as possible.
4. Add the toppings. Spoon the chili evenly over the chips. Scatter the seasoned chicken, diced tomatoes, corn, and black beans across the top.
5. Cover with cheese. Sprinkle the shredded cheese generously and evenly over the entire pan.
6. Bake. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15–20 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted, bubbly, and beginning to brown at the edges.
7. Finish and serve. Remove from the oven and immediately top with dollops of sour cream, jalapeños, green onions, and cilantro. Serve straight from the pan while hot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 22g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 44g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 780mg