September 28, 2015

Barbecue Chicken Nachos

Disclosure: Thank you to the American Dairy Association Mideast and the Ohio Dairy Farmers for a MOO-valous trip! All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

A couple of weeks ago I traveled to Ohio to visit with some very fabulous ladies. Of the four legged variety. Often colored black and white. With big tongues, long eyelashes and four udders. Yeah, I’m talking about dairy cows. What did you think I was talking about?

Before we really get going today, I want to pause for a second and thank each and every single one of you for your discretion. Because during my trip I put this photo on Instagram and not one person made an inappropriate comment. Seriously, you all have a lot more self restraint than me. Kudos.

Ok, let’s circle back. I was out in Ohio to get the low down on all things dairy. Which included everything from enjoying wine and cheese pairings at the House of Blues, tasting insane grilled cheese sandwiches at Melt Bar and Grilled, traveling out to the Ohio countryside to feast on a traditional Amish lunch, and having a super classy dinner at FirstEnergy Stadium with Joe Thomas of the Cleveland Browns. Who by the way, was happy to gossip with us ladies about The Bachelor/Bachelorette, which made him THAT much cooler in my book. Sorry to put your business out on the street Joe!

Are you getting the point that there was a lot of eating on this trip? Yeah. It’s true. But while the food was certainly incredible, the best part was meeting the people behind the food. Like the amazing folks at the American Dairy Association Mideast, who answered all of our burning questions about dairy and nutrition. And the Ohio Dairy Farmers, who proudly showed us around their farms and talked candidly with us about the practices they have in place to prioritize the health and happiness of their herds, all while ensuring they are producing a safe and delicious product. It was fun to be able to experience some of the day-to-day operations on the farm (I milked my first cow and fed a baby cow a bottle!). And I have a renewed appreciation and respect for all the hard work goes into running a dairy farm. Also, cows are BIG (I was a bit intimidated!) and have big personalities to match!

Not only did I eat a lot of cheese on this trip, but I also came home with some. After our behind the scenes tour at Pearl Valley Cheese, they let us do a little shopping in their retail store. You want to see something exciting, just watch 11 food bloggers running around a store filled with award winning cheeses! Of course, I bought several kinds. Can you blame me?

So needless to say, I’ve been having myself a little cheese party here at home the last couple of weeks. Grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas and nachos galore! Happy times!

These Barbecue Chicken Nachos are about as easy as it gets thanks to a couple short cuts, including a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and some store bought barbecue sauce. If you want to go all out and cook your own chicken and make your own barbecue sauce, be my guest. I won’t stop you. I just wanted nachos FAST and with minimal prep work.

My Barbecue Chicken Nachos are perfect for game day. Or for binge watching The Bachelor/Bachelorette. You choose. No judgement.

Cheers,

Liz

Barbecue Chicken Nachos

Serves about 6

Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded chicken
• 3/4 cups barbecue sauce
• 12 ounces corn tortilla chips
• 3 cups shredded cheese (I used a mix of Colby, Cheddar and Swiss)
• 1-2 jalapeño peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a large rimmed baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, toss the shredded chicken with the barbecue sauce until well coated.
3. Spread about half of the tortilla chips out over your baking sheet. Top with half of the chicken, half of the cheese and half of the sliced jalapeño peppers. Then add the remaining chips and repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients.
4. Transfer to your pre-heated oven and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Remove. Top with the diced avocado and fresh cilantro. Serve immediately.

3.1

https://www.floatingkitchen.net/barbecue-chicken-nachos/