This fast and easy dinner idea is perfect for a family movie night or a lazy weekend, but is also easily expandable to include unexpected guests. And, since it’s served buffet-style, it’s easily customizable to suit individual dietary needs; it can be vegetarian, gluten free, a keto-friendly taco salad, or that giant cheese-covered plate of chips favored by teenagers. Viva the Friday Night Nacho Bar!

If you’re like many folks these days, you may find yourself at home and cooking dinner a lot more often than you’ve become accustomed to in the past. Whether it’s because you’re short on funds from lack of work during the shelter-in-place orders so many of us have been under, or you’re paranoid about eating take-out that’s been less-than-meticulously prepared by bored teenagers*, cooking to stay alive (as opposed to cooking for health or recreational reasons) has become the latest cooking trend. (*Don’t get me wrong, teenagers are some of my favorite people – I have several of my own – but they do have a tendency to feel immortal in the face of danger, be it pandemic, arbitrary land-speed suggestions, or what-have-you.)

So when 6:00pm rolls around, it’s easy to find yourself staring at the inevitable pound of thawed ground beef and wondering what new and exciting thing you can do with it to keep from inciting a family riot by serving yet another night of spaghetti, meatloaf, tacos, or that final bastion of desperation – Hamburger Helper.

Enter the Friday Night Nacho Bar!

Most of the items needed to pull this together are always lurking in my pantry or freezer anyway. In addition to the obvious bag of tortilla chips, I like to start with a pound or so of ground beef, spiced up with a packet of taco seasoning according to the package directions, and just build from there. But, to make it truly deserving of the name of “Nacho Bar”, it requires nacho cheese sauce — that warm, slightly spicy, and oh, so ooey-gooey vat of naughtiness that we achieve by melting together Velveeta and ready-made salsa (both excellent pantry items).

To these items you can add whatever you and your family like — such as canned refried beans (heated and thinned out with a little water to a dip-like consistency — I also add salt and shredded cheese) or canned black beans (rinsed, drained, and heated), sliced jalapenos, shredded Mexican-blend or cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, and chopped tomato. My husband is fond of canned garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained), so I try to remember them. Speaking of sliced jalapenos, I like to use the slightly milder type that come in a glass jar — that way I can put them all over my nachos without succumbing to a spiciness-induced bout of hiccups. But if you prefer fresh, go for it!

And definitely include several classic toppings such as fresh or bottled salsa (bonus points for homemade, such as Tammi’s Salsa), sour cream, and guacamole or chopped avocado. Chopped green onions, finely diced red onion, and sliced black olives are all great ideas. Just choose your favorites, and let the whole family have fun with it!

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