The mission: This book sets out “to elevate nachos from their status of neon-yellow-cheese-smothered chips to delectably gooey treats to share with friends and family.”
What we made:
Sunny-side Nachos (P. 53)
1 pound ground breakfast sausage (vegetarians can substitute Gimme Lean)
Cayenne pepper
7 ounces corn tortilla chips, approximately half of a store-bought bag, or, if prepared fresh, use 15 corn tortillas, each cut into 6 triangles
1 white onion, diced
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups, divided)
4 large eggs
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a skillet, crumble and brown the breakfast sausage as per the package directions. Sprinkle in some cayenne for an additional kick.
3. Layer the tortilla chips in a 9 x 13-inch roasting pan. Evenly distribute the sausage, onion and tomato over the chips. Cover the chips with 1 ½ cups shredded cheese.
4. Bake the nachos for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese has melted.
5. While the nachos are baking, fry 4 eggs sunny side up, leaving the yolks runny.
6. When the nachos are done, place the eggs directly on top of the nachos. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup shredded cheese over the eggs and season generously with salt and pepper.
7. Serve the nachos with a side of home fries and a hot cup of coffee.
Our assessment: Quick, affordable and easy! If you can dice vegetables and fry an egg, you can put this dish together in minutes. Ours baked in a cast iron skillet in the oven for 10 minutes. It’s a hearty, flavorful meal that will feed 4 to 6. To cut down on fat, we used turkey sausage, and to make it pretty, we used blue corn chips — red chips would also look nice.
Cost of ingredients: $11.50.
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