If you follow our What We Ate page, you may have noticed that last week Mr. How Sweet and I had buffalo chicken sandwiches for dinner one night.
That meal was a repeat from when Mr. How Sweet cooked for me one Friday night after deciding he wanted to make dinner — which, if you know him, is a rare occurrence unless it involves ground turkey or eggs.
With the meal we made a homemade blue cheese dressing and a simple butter-plus-buffalo sauce for tossing the chicken. The last time we had that, I smeared the blue cheese on everything I could find — even on a grilled cheese.
One day last week I realized how fantastic that blue cheese and buffalo sauce would be on crispy chips with melted cheese. So I made nachos. And then I made them again. Four days in a row, until both the blue cheese dressing and the buffalo wing sauce were gone.
The combination was irresistible. I couldn’t wait to serve them to Mr. How Sweet, but I knew the dish would be better with chicken, so I used some leftover meat from the chicken we roasted. The result is a pleasantly hodgepodge dish that’s flexible and forgiving — don’t feel bound by the exact recipe. Throw together chicken, cheeses, buffalo sauce and scallions and you’ll be very happy.
This time I baked the tortilla chips, since I felt I had eaten my yearly quota of store-bought chips. Baked wedges are crisp and sturdy — the perfect vehicle for scooping cheese, chicken and buffalo sauce. Of course, you can skip that step and use your favorite tortilla chips instead.
I finished the nachos with sliced avocado for a cool, creamy contrast to the heat. I also couldn’t resist rescuing a bruised avocado on its last leg — some people save relationships, I save food.
Baked Layered Buffalo Chicken Nachos
8 whole wheat tortillas
4–5 ounces shredded chicken
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1–2 ounces crumbled gorgonzola (or blue cheese)
1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce (add more to taste)
1/4 cup chopped scallions
Avocado for garnish
Olive oil for spritzing
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Cut the tortillas into wedges, lightly spritz with olive oil, and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake the wedges for about 10 minutes, or until golden and crisp. (Alternatively, use store-bought tortilla chips.) Layer a portion of the chips in the bottom of a baking dish, then top with shredded chicken, cheddar, gorgonzola, buffalo sauce and scallions. Continue layering until you’ve used all the chips and toppings. Bake for 5–10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Drizzle extra buffalo sauce on top and garnish with more scallions and sliced avocado before serving.
That’s it — simple, bold, and perfect for sharing. I’m full.