Concession Stand Style Nachos

We hosted a Superbowl party last Sunday and while I would love to tell you everything offered was healthy, it wasn't.  The bottom line is we eat healthy 95% of the time so we can not feel guilty eating unhealthy 5% of the time.  Now hosting an event is very much different than eating in that you want to offer your guests some of the things they enjoy, especially for special events like the Superbowl.  These are the popular pub grub and concession stand foods.  Don't worry though, as there were plenty of healthy choices offered and this year instead of chili I baked a ham for ham buns complete with lettuce and the fixings along with baked beans, and a friend brought a lovely hot potato salad.  I also had vegetable, fruit and pickle trays.  Anyway, we had a lot of fun!

Every single football stadium, hockey arena, ball park and sports event has nacho chips with cheese.  And trust me, we have been to a lot of these venues since my husband is a bit of a sports fanatic.  Concession stand nachos are famous for their thick, round tortilla chips topped with a heavy dose of orange cheese product with jalapeño peppers.  That's it.

The best price I have found for the ingredients for concession style nachos is Sam's Club.  Medellion original round 2-3 lb bags ($7.92).  They used to always be just under $5 but that's inflation.  The Baker's & Chefs nacho cheese sauce, 6 lb at $5.82 is the best tasting nacho cheese sauce we have found.  This is a commercial grade sauce that is what a lot of concession stands use.  It can be diluted with 2 cups of water or 3 cups of whole milk to increase the yield.  I don't dilute it.  The clear plastic nacho trays are for presentation.  A 125 ct bag costs $4.98 and while I know they are not eco-friendly they are a huge crowd pleaser and for home use can be re-used.  I use home canned jalapeño peppers but Sam's Club sells them for $3.24 for 64 oz.  I also add home canned salsa which you may or may not want to do.

Self-serve works well for several applications when entertaining.  I set up the self-serve nacho station on the snack cart under one of the televisions in the games room.  Of note is how I present it.  I use the small squatty mason jars as serving bowls for the salsa, sour cream and peppers.  That means at any given time I only have at max a cup of each out.  When a refill is needed the jar is replaced with a fresh jar along with the refill.  It does make for a bit more dishes to wash but it is a lot safer than adding fresh to a serving bowl that has been sitting out for a over an hour or more.  I also only use half the can of cheese and about a quarter of a bag of the tortilla chips at a time, replenishing as necessary.  Once I notice the interest in the nacho bar is waning, I just simply clear it out replacing it with the next snack.

Concession stand nachos are usually served in plastic, two compartment trays.  Usually they are simple round tortilla chips laden with warm, spicy, gooey nacho cheese sauce .  Extra cheese sauce or peppers is placed in the smaller compartment.  I've never seen sour cream or salsa at concession stands for the nachos.  Not that some don't offer it just I've never run across it.  I added sour cream and salsa just to kick the snack up a notch.  These nachos get rave reviews!

If you want to make authentic concession stand style  style nachos, get your food supplies at Sam's Club or a restaurant supply.  Presentation adds to the snack so be sure to use nacho trays.  The nacho trays will be available at either or you can find them at party stores.  The most important thing is have fun with this type of dish. There really isn't any way you can mess it up so enjoy!