My husband and I used to eat out fairly often, and it made me so sick. (You can read more about my journey with IBS and food here) I would have unexplained (well, what I thought was unexplained) vomiting and diarrhea about two or three times a month, yet kept going back to the convenience of fast food and staying sick. Now that I avoid processed foods and eat cleaner, I hardly ever have any IBS symptoms! Feeling (and staying!) healthy and having plentiful energy is well worth the time I spend in the kitchen!
But let’s be honest…sometimes you just need a junk food fix. When we used to eat out, we would often go get chicken wings, and my favorite flavor was Spicy Garlic. Yum! One of my favorite things to do is re-make junk food classics into a healthier version – eating healthy doesn’t have to be tasteless and boring! So I created a spicy garlic chicken, decided to top some crispy potato rounds with it, and there you have it – Spicy Garlic Chicken Nachos! Serve these as an appetizer, or a big plate full for a delicious, albeit messy, dinner. Enjoy!
Spicy Garlic Chicken Nachos
Serves 6.
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
- 2 lbs of dark meat chicken, boneless and skinless
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 bulbs of garlic, roasted
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise (get my homemade version here)
For the nachos:
- 4 medium potatoes (sweet, russet, or a combo) sliced into rounds
- 1/2 tsp of salt
Toppings:
- Salsa or hot sauce
- Guacamole
- Pickled banana peppers or jalapenos
- A drizzle of ranch (get my homemade version here)
- Chopped scallions or cilantro
Directions:
- Place chicken, seasonings, and apple cider vinegar in your slow cooker
- Cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours
- While chicken is cooking, roast your garlic
- Slice the end off of the garlic bulb, drizzle with olive oil
- Wrap in foil, then roast in a 425 F oven for 45 minutes
- During the last hour your chicken is cooking, bake your potato rounds
- Simply lay the rounds out evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet
- Season with salt
- Bake for 30 minutes in a 425 F oven
- Broil for 1 to 2 minutes to get more crispiness
- Once chicken is done, shred the meat
- Add garlic (just squeeze it out) and mayonnaise
- Stir to combine
- Let the chicken mixture cook for about another 30 minutes on low
- Place “nachos” on a plate or tray, top with meat mixture, then desired toppings
- Store leftovers separate, covered, in the fridge
- The leftover meat is also delicious stuffed in a baked potato, or with brown rice!
For more made-over junk food recipes, check out my Oven Baked Fries, BBQ Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Potatoes, or Slow Cooker Potato and Kale Soup. Pretty much all of my dessert recipes are healthier versions of classics – mama needs sweets – but my current favorites are my Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Wholesome Chocolate Chunk Cookies (my most viewed recipe!), and No Bake Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust. I also recently posted Flax and Oat Pancakes; a made-over breakfast staple. I am sure you can find something to help you get your junk food fix – whether it is sweet or savory! Eat healthy foods that taste good…and enjoy your pinch of crazy!
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A Pinch of Crazy 