"Ch, ch, ch, chilaquiles" by Nosh On

Ch, ch, ch, chilaquiles

Blog: Nosh On

May 5, 2011

As we were sitting in the car the other day my 6-year-old nephew started pointing to yellow cars making silly jokes about how they were way too bright, too yellow. As he pointed out an orange-yellow one, he started with the silly "that's way too much!" talk and then said "it makes me want to eat it, it looks like nachos."

I couldn't have agreed more. The car was the same color as cheddar cheese-covered nachos. Though we neither one were particularly hungry before seeing the nacho-colored car, we both suddenly got the urge to eat nachos. We were far from nachos and didn't end up getting any, but that doesn't mean I quit thinking about them.

So yesterday, when my boss also mentioned nachos, I decided I'd make chilaquiles the next morning. "What!?!" you ask. Yep, chilaquiles. I could hardly justify making nachos for breakfast, so I did the next best thing, maybe even a better thing, since people in Mexico actually eat chilaquiles — which are a lot like nachos — for breakfast.

This morning's chilaquiles took maybe 10 minutes to put together and only 15 minutes in the oven, so there was no need to get up early.

Chilaquiles is one of those dishes that's less about the cooking and more about the ingredients. Though I'm usually a proponent of the all-from-scratch school of cooking, I'm perfectly happy to make good food from not-from-scratch stuff. This stands out as one of my favorites.

Chilaquiles

12 ounces (about 3/4 of a standard bag) good tortilla chips (Juanita's brand if possible) 3 7-ounce cans green salsa (I like Embasa brand) 1 cup crema mexicana (available in the dairy aisle of most supermarkets around here) 3/4 cup cotija cheese, crumbled (you'll find it next to the crema mexicana)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss chips with salsa and place in baking dish (9- by 13-inch works well). Drizzle crema over chips. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Want to comment on this story? All Wenatchee World members are invited to comment on stories, by using the form below. Please know that we at wenatcheeworld.com hope our site is useful, entertaining and civil. So we'll delete comments that are obscene, abusive or way off topic. We appreciate it when readers use the "suggest removal" button to flag inappropriate comments. For more about interacting with the site, see our Use Policy.

BLOGS