Golden Globe Viewing Party [Lightened Up] Nachos

Did you watch the Golden Globes last night?  Did you feel so happy for young Lena Dunham and her two wins and at the same time cover your eyes watching the poor thing make that long walk up to the stage on her clearly very sore feet?  I did.  She was so cute and gracious though and her show Girls is so good that it makes me want to be less cheap and spring for a movie channel subscription.

I love watching award shows-- I have since I was a little girl and I used to stay up way too late on school night watching them (whether my parents knew or not).  Once I got older I liked to make a bigger deal out of it and my friends or roommates and I would host our own little viewing parties.  Tonight it was just me and my hubby (as I am not as good about going out on "school" nights anymore) and I wanted to do something fun for our little viewing party, which came on the tail end of a long day of football watching. 

So, wine, beer, and nachos it was!  I LOVE nachos.  They're one of my junk food favorites, but I went to the gym twice this weekend and didn't want to totally blow that so I am sharing my lighter (but not necessarily healthy) nacho recipe with you today.  Ground turkey, real seasoning, lots of veggies, fresh guacamole instead of fatty sour cream, and baked homemade chips make these nachos a little easier on your conscience to enjoy.

Ingredients:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• 7 corn tortillas, each cut into 6 wedges
• Sea salt, to taste
• 1/2 lb. ground turkey
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 serrano pepper, seeded, ribs removed, and finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. oregano
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup fat free low sodium chicken broth
• 6 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 1/2 avocados
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced *For my husband, not for me :)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil and arrange tortilla wedges evenly on the sheet.  Lightly spray or drizzle olive oil on top and season with sea salt.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until chips are golden and crispy.  Remove from oven and let the chips cool.

Lightly grease a skillet with olive oil and heat on stovetop over medium heat.  Add turkey, break it up, and stir occasionally.  Cook until the turkey is no longer pink and then add onion, serrano, and garlic.  Cook for another 4-5 minutes, stirring often until onion is softened.  Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, salt, pepper, and chicken broth.  Stir to combine.  Continue to cook over medium heat until liquid has been absorbed.  Remove from heat.

Using a baking dish with some depth (I used a glass pie plate), arrange chips, cheese, and ground turkey in even layers.  In my pie plate, I made about 2 1/2 layers of nachos.  Bake for 8-10 minutes our until cheese is melted and begins to brown.

In a small bowl mash avocado flesh with lime juice.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in red onion and 1/4 cup of diced tomatoes.

Serve nachos with guacamole, lettuce, jalapeno (if you wish), and remaining tomatoes.