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WHEN I WAS YOUNG and growing up in Dallas, our favorite Mexican restaurant was a family-owned hole-in-the wall called Herrera's. It's now expanded to a much larger location, but in the 1970s it was in an old adobe building that had ten tables and to reach the dining room, you had to walk through the kitchen. Dallas went crazy for its soulful cooking, and the waits to get in were often long, but it was worth it.
We all had our favorite things to order: for my dad, it was the enchiladas, I loved the tamales, and my mom always went for the crazy nachos. Now, it always surprised me that my mom would order nachos since she ate them at home almost every single day for her lunch. However, she explained that while hers were good, Herrera's Crazy Nachos were the best.
In those days—before nachos became a sloppy stack of "chips and stuff"—nachos were a refined, simpler dish, with each individual tortilla chip topped with just cheese, beans, and jalapeños. So when Herrera's added taco meat, guacamole, and sour cream to their crazy nachos, it was considered quite daring and wild. That said, Herrera's crazy nachos were still elegant: each chip was a self-contained bite of all these fantastic flavors.
I admit that the name may seem a bit dated to some, as there's really nothing crazy about these nachos at all. But no matter what you call them, they're a fully loaded treat that is great to enjoy when watching games or sitting around and visiting with family and friends. And, if you're like my mom, they make a fine meal, too.
Ingredients
Serves 4
CHIPOTLE TACO MEAT
GUACAMOLE
CRAZY NACHOS
Step 1
To make the chipotle taco meat, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the beef and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beef is lightly browned and the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Add the tomato, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and chipotle chile. Stir until the spices are well distributed, turn down the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the masa harina until well combined, then taste and adjust the seasonings. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Stir in the lime juice and remove from the heat.
Step 2
To make the guacamole, mash the avocado until smooth. Stir in the jalapeño, cilantro, cumin, and lime juice. Adjust seasonings and add salt to taste.
Step 3
To make the nachos, pour 1/2 of oil into a heavy skillet and heat to 350°F. If you don't have a candy thermometer, after 5 minutes of heating, you can stick a wooden spoon into the oil to see if it's ready. If the oil bubbles around the spoon it should be hot enough. In batches, fry the tortillas for 1 minute, until golden brown, turning once. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle lightly with salt.
Step 4
Place the chips close together but not overlapping on a baking sheet or castiron skillet, and top each with 1 teaspoon refried beans, 2 tablespoons chipotle taco meat, and 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese.
Step 5
Bake for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. After removing the nachos from the oven, top each with 1 tablespoon guacamole, 1 tablespoon sour cream, and 1 pickled jalapeño slice. Serve warm, with salsa on the side.
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Reviews (4)
Back to TopAmazing, have made this recipe dozens of times.
matrix369
London, Canada
5/22/2020
Years and years ago, I was homesick for Texas and decided to type those words in the search bar. I found Lisa’s blog and these nachos. I had completely forgotten about how good they were until tonight. I was watching This Is Us with some friends and saw the god awful nachos they were eating and tomorrow I’m making these again.
Numnumnums
Baton Rouge, La & Plano, Tx
4/26/2019
These were so good I couldn't believe it . Finally found a good quick Nacho recipe that I can make in no time . The flavor of the meat is so good I'm going to try in in tacos. I did mine just a little bit different and layed them all out on a cookie sheet put everything on top and baked for maybe 10 minutes. Insanely delicious,
cinderella11
corning california
2/22/2016
Wow! These sound so good and so REAL! Can't believe no one has tried them yet. Just so happens that I've got every ingredient on hand and we're gearing up for Cinco de Mayo around here. I've got some crunchy tostada shells from the Mexican market so I can save time and effort in that department. Gonna whip up a batch of these and let ya'll know how they turned out. Ummmm.... can't wait.
worldbeat
Oakland, CA
5/2/2015