Nachos for girls night

My teenaged nieces are coming to spend the night with me tonight as we want to finish watching season 2 of Vampire Diaries together. They got me addicted to the series so now we have agreed only ever to watch it together. So I have been prepping for our girls night – the sweets and chocolates have been bought, as well as the frozen berries and bananas for tomorrow mornings breakfast smoothies. But I was a bit stumped as to what to do for dinner.

I thought a snacky style TV dinner would be best and as avos are at large right now I thought nachos with dips would be the perfect thing. So I have made refried beans, guacamole and tomato and pimento salsa. My house mate is going to make a shredded chicken thing later to add to the mix. Top this all with sour cream and grated cheese and I think we have a winner!

The picture above was my lunch as I couldn’t resist trying some out, but it was the ‘light’ version, really fresh and tasty without the guilt. We will hit the decadent version once the girls are here.

The below if for a nacho’s feast of about 6 – 8 people

Refried Beans

1 Tbsp of oil

1 small onion

1 clove of garlic, finely sliced

3 cups of pre cooked beans or canned beans (I used red speckled beans)

½ a cup of water (more if the mixture is too dry)

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of paprika

½ tsp of black pepper

½ tsp of chilli powder (optional)

½ a cup of cheddar cheese (more if you like it very cheesy)

Gently fry the onion and garlic in the oil on medium heat until translucent and softening. Add the beans and all the other ingredients except the cheese and gently fry this. Using a masher, mash the beans into a rough paste. Add the cheese and remove from the heat. Stir and set aside until ready for use.

Guacamole

2 ripe avos, scooped out of their skins

Juice of half a large lemon (or one fresh lime if can find them)

Finely grated lemon zest of a ¼ of the same lemon (or lime)

2 cloves of garlic, crushed (optional)

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of chilli flakes (or finely chopped fresh chilli)

¼ of a small red onion, finely chopped

1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

A handful of chopped fresh coriander (I couldn’t find any, so I left this out)

Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and mash with the back of fork until a rough paste has formed.

Tomato and pimento salsa

2 medium tomatoes cut into small cubes

2 pimento, seeded and cut into small cubes

½ a small red onion, finely chopped

A squeeze of lemon juice

1 tsp of salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Some finely chopped chilli

A handful of fresh coriander chopped (I couldn’t find any so I used basil and mint)

Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and toss lightly.

If you want to add chicken or ground beef, use about 300gs of either. Cut chicken breast up into very small pieces. Then fry the chicken or beef mince in a pan with a little oil and some of your favourite seasonings and salt until just cooked through, about 10 minutes or so. Set aside until ready for use.

Get a couple of packets of your favourite nacho’s (I would suggest a more traditional round chip with not too much additional flavouring). Pre heat your oven on grill. Then lay the chips out on an oven proof platter, top with the dips starting with the beans and ending with salsa, dollop on some sour cream and finally scatter with grated cheese. Grill in the oven until the cheese has just melted.

Tuck in immediately.