Family Nacho Night with Pizza Nachos and Italian Nachos

So here’s the thing about my Family Nacho Night–it’s easy, fast, and fun.  The other night I wanted to do something cool with my kidlets.  My Man had to work late and sometimes dinner can feel kinda boring when he’s missing.  So I decided to switch it up and have a NACHO BAR!  Oh, the possibilities are endless my friends . . . 

The best part about a nacho bar for dinner is that you can use all your little leftovers in the fridge.  Chop ’em up and just put it out there–you never know what your kidlets will put together.  AND PLEASE NOTICE these are pics of our real set up.  I’m sorry, but I don’t have cute labels out for every different topping and no party goods to match (*wink wink).  Just a real family having real dinner.

We used that big ‘ol bag of chips from Costco.

And then the kidlets created their nachos how they wanted.  It’s a “Build Your Own Dinner” (BYOD).  They loved making the choices and then just popping it in the microwave to melt the cheese.  I told them they had to at least have 1-2 veggies on their plate, but other than that they could choose. (Hey, it’s dinner and how can I be a true mom if I don’t bug my kids about eating vegetables)   

We came up with 2 favorite kinds of nachos.  The ingredients are very similar, so it’s simple to make both kinds in one night:

PIZZA NACHOS

Pizza Nachos

1-2 cups marinara sauce or red pizza sauce

1 cup black olives, sliced

1/2 cup bell peppers, chopped

3/4 cup pepperoni, cut into quarters (we use turkey pepperoni–it’s healthier and so good!)

1/2 cup pre-cooked breakfast sausage, sliced (we use turkey sausage–again tasty and healthier)

1 cup cheese, shredded

2-4 cups of corn tortilla chips

Add toppings as desired and microwave until cheese is melted (about 1-2 mins, depending on microwave).

Our other favorite was a quick version of those Italian nachos you see at restaurants (like Carino’s).  They use almost the same ingredients as the Pizza Nachos, with just a few changes.  So no need to chop a bunch of extra ingredients.

ITALIAN NACHOS

Italian Nachos

1-2 cups of Alfredo Sauce 

(I used store bought this time, but you can try my Homemade Alfredo Sauce if you want)

1-2 cups cooked, diced, and seasoned chicken breast 

(leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken works well here)

1 cup tomatoes, diced

1 cup olives, sliced

1/2 cup jalapenos, chopped — don’t leave these out if you can help it–they make it sooo good!

1-2 cups cheese

2-4 cups corn tortilla chips

Add toppings as desired to chips and microwave until cheese is melted (about 1-2 mins, depending on microwave).

And at the end we even tried a plate of nachos with EVERY TOPPING on it–including both sauces.  Yeah, it was yummy too.

So, I hope this inspires you to give a boring dinner a little pizzazz and have a fun time with your family this week.  Just chat and relax over a big plate of nachos.  

Make it a meaningful day!