So it's way past midnight, you have that 20 page paper due tomorrow, and you are hungry. You can't very well right on an empty stomach, plus, you need to procrastinate a bit longer. You go the fridge, open it, and find a hodgepodge of things, none of which look like something to eat.
Well, arguably, not everyone will have all these things lying around, but this recipe is about procrastination. If you have a tortilla and cheese, you can have nachos.
For my previous recipe, I was at home, so I had a few more things that I would regularly have. For this one, all you need are the bare essentials; so let's get to it, shall we?
Like I said before, this recipe is all about improvisation, so you will see me saying a lot to just improvise with the ingredients. Add what you like (or what you have). This is roughly how I made them tonight, with a few suggestions for you. As with most things you will see here, measurements are not important. You can just eyeball everything.
Ingredients:- one flour tortilla (or a pita)
- cheese; cheddar works best, or use some chile con queso if you have it
- tomato sauce or salsa
- olive oil of vegetable oil Optional:
- Spanish rice (I had some left over from earlier)
- refried beans
- some olives (I like them) Just get creative here, use whatever you like. I usually chop up some cilantro or parsley, but I almost never have any.
- aluminum foil
- chef's knife*
- baking sheet
- cutting board (optional, but preferable
Cut up the tortilla in squares (or fancy diamonds if you are trying to impress that sexy study partner).
Put some foil on the baking sheet and sprinkle some oil over it. Spread the tortilla over it in one layer, and sprinkle a bit more oil over it. They really won't get crispy without the oil, but you can try it if you want.
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Bake the chips for 5 to 10 minutes (it was about 7 for me). Watch for the edges to turn golden brown. They burn fairly easily, but don't let that discourage you. Take them out when done.
To avoid cleaning (which we all love), fold the edges of the foil up and make a makeshift bowl. Just us your fingers, I promise the foil won't be hot. I did this right after taking them out of the oven. The chips do not need to remain in one layer.
Top the chips as you would like. I used some leftover rice, pepperjack cheese (I think, I found random graded cheese in the fridge; it was white; your guess is as good as mine), and some tomato sauce I had sitting around. Use whatever you decided earlier.
Put back in the oven for a little bit. Depending on what you used (i.e. graded cheese or chile con queso), the time will differ. It took me about 5 more minutes.
Enjoy!
- You can use any knife for this recipe (scissors also work). However, get yourself a nice chef's knife, it will be the only knife you'll ever need. You can do everything with a chef's knife, it should become your best friend in the kitchen.
