Crabtastic Nachos

Who doesn’t love a good plate of nachos? I fondly remember my college days where the epitome of a celebration was centered around a keg and piles and piles of nachos. I went to college in Indianapolis and every weekend we would find ourselves huddled around giant plates of chicken nachos from a little random bar/restaurant called Pacos. There was nothing particularly spectacular about the place other than it was our hang out; the place we would go to soak up the alcohol at 3am or have a mid-morning beer to help the hangover lingering from the night before. Ahhh, college. The days when our livers were strong…

Although the alcohol may be waning, we can certainly keep the nachos flowing! After all, they are quite a beautiful concoction. I love customizable food; the kind of food that you can make your own by adding your own toppings and character to the original. Things like tacos, pizzas, and of course, nachos are all wonderful vessels for creative made-to-order food. These incidentally also happen to be classic favorite game day foods.

The fantastic flavor in these crabtastic nachos even surprised me when I took my first bite. I always worry about a lower calorie, lower fat, “healthy” version of nachos. Those things just don’t seem to want to go together. But after one taste of these, I wanted to devour the entire tray! The beauty of crab is that it stands out so well on its own without needing to have the whole lot doused in greasy gooey cheese. A small amount of sharp cheddar and parmesan adds just enough flavor. The rest is piled high with green chilies, bell pepper, and topped with an herby blend of green onion, cilantro and dill.

So put on your team jerseys, chill the beer and get your nacho on because it’s game time!

Crabtastic Nachos

www.barbaracooks.com

Servings: 6 • Size: 1/6^th of recipe • Weight Watcher Points+: 2

Calories: 127 • Fat: 4g • Carbs: 12g • Fiber: 1g • Protein: 12g

Sugars: 1g • Sodium: 273mg • Cholesterol: 43mg

Ingredients:

• About 40 baked tortilla chips*
• 8 ounces lump crab meat
• 2 Tablespoons diced canned green chilies
• ½ red bell pepper, diced
• 1 ounce shaved parmesan
• 1 ounce shaved white cheddar
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon chopped scallion
• 1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 Tablespoon chopped dill

*I made my own tortilla chips with white corn tortillas by cutting them in quarters, lightly spraying them with an oil mister and spreading them out on a baking sheet in one layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes, turning over once halfway through cooking.

Directions:

Preheat broiler on low and place the rack in the second to lowest position in the oven.

Place the chips in a pile on the bottom of a shallow casserole dish or oven safe platter. Top with the crab, green chilies and red pepper. Spread the cheese evenly on top and sprinkle the black pepper over it. Place under the broiler for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is starting to brown and is bubbly. Remove from oven and top with the herbs.