A heavy skillet, a bag of your favorite tortilla chips, salsa spiced up with jalapenos, medium cheddar cheese and an already-roasted chicken from the supermarket are all you need for the best nachos you’ve ever had!

By the time we were finished cleaning fish yesterday, it was already close to five o’clock. Tired, hungry and in dire need of a beer (or three), we had J-Dock vacuum pack and flash freeze our fillets, absent-mindedly forgetting to set aside a piece of salmon for ourselves for dinner. We’d fished hard and filled our cooler, and neither one of us was keen to cook. “How about super nachos?” Barbra suggested. “We could get one of those roasted chickens at Safeway….”

“And a case of beer,” I added.

We already had everything else we needed: medium-aged Tillamook cheddar cheese, sliced jalapeno peppers, Newman’s Own salsa, and Mission tortilla chips. Here’s all there is to it.

Pick a heavy frying pan, one that heats evenly and won’t burn the chips. Pour in a little olive oil, turn the heat to low or medium low, and when it’s hot, put in a layer of chips followed by a layer of cheese, a few spoonfuls of salsa, a few jalapenos sliced thin or diced fine (cook’s choice), and a generous amount of chunks of roasted chicken. Lay down a second layer of chips, cheese, salsa jalapenos and chicken, cover the pan with a lid, and cook over low heat till all the cheese is melted. Add a couple dollops of sour cream or guacamole when it’s all done if you want, serve it right in the pan, and keep the beers coming. Pop in a movie and eat and drink more than you should.

I had a few black beans on hand and added those this time, but usually I make this with no beans. This dish is great without the chicken (or any other meat), too. Next time I make this, I’m going to use rockfish and see how that goes. Future experiments might include caribou, moose or ground black bear.