What's For Dinner Wednesday: BBQ Chicken Irish Nachos

On Monday I shared one of my favorite slow cooker recipes, which also happens to be one of the easiest ever. I like to make a big batch of it because slow cooker BBQ chicken is versatile and can be used for a variety of different dishes later on: on sandwiches (like we enjoyed on Monday), on top of salads, in tacos, served with rice, on it's own... It could also be a baked potato topping, a nacho topping, or in this case: both.

There are a few bars around Chicago that serve Irish Nachos as appetizers. They are greasy, heavy, bad for you... and totally delicious. If you aren't familiar with them, the concept is basically a nacho platter where waffle fries are subbed in for tortilla chips-- like a cheese fries/nacho hybrid. No way that it could be bad, right?

Well, I decided to try them out at home for once and give them a somewhat healthier spin. I used homemade baked potato chips as the base and topped them with leftover pulled BBQ chicken, fresh red peppers, and low fat cheddar cheese. It was a super filling (and fun) dinner, but could also be a great game day snack too.

Like nachos, you can add any toppings here that you like-- be creative! I served these with nonfat plain Greek yogurt (a healthier sour cream alternative) and they pretty much disappeared.

Ingredients:

• 3 Russet potatoes
• 1 Tbs. canola oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup shredded BBQ chicken *See recipe for slow cooker BBQ chicken here
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, cored, and cut into small strips or dice
• Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, for serving

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash potatoes and pat dry. Slice each potato width-wise into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Add potatoes, oil, salt, and pepper to a large mixing bowl and stir to coat potato slices.

Place a wire rack on top of a metal baking sheet and arrange the potato slices in an even layer across the wire rack. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Using a spatula, gently turn each potato slice over and bake for an addition 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are golden and edges are crispy.

Remove potato slices from the wire rack and arrange half of them in a single layer in a smaller baking dish, like a 8 or 9-inch pie plate. Top evenly with half of each the BBQ chicken, peppers, and cheese. Repeat with remaining potatoes and topping ingredients.

Bake for another 10-12 minutes our until cheese is fully melted. Serve warm with sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.

Makes 3-4 entree portions.