Grilled Shrimp Nachos

I am going to let you in on a secret. The secret to good restaurant style nachos is American cheese. Are you surprised? I was! This has been confirmed by two different waitresses, in two different states. In Texas, the cheese was shredded and topped beef, bean and cheese loaded nachos. When we asked the waitress what kind of cheese they use, she looked at us like we were crazy and said "American cheese". In Louisiana, the cheese was melted into a sauce on shrimp nachos. When we asked this waitress, she quickly looked over her shoulder and whispered "American cheese with a splash of milk and jalapenos". She knew she was giving away a treasured secret. I would mention the restaurant but I don't want to get anyone in trouble. These are the nachos I decided to re-create this week. 

Grilled Shrimp Nachos are so different, lots of grill flavor, perfect shrimp, creamy slightly cheesy peppers and onions, piled high on crispy tortilla chips. I made them twice. The first time I used green bell pepper. Dear sister and I loved them. The second time, I used half a green bell pepper and half a poblano pepper. They were a little spicier, but I liked it. I love poblanos! My advice is to use the peppers according to your taste. If serving little ones you may want to just use green bell peppers and skip the jalapenos. I plan to try a whole poblano next time. Trust me there will be a next time. These nachos are really good!

Grilled Shrimp Nachos

Serves 2 as a meal; 4 or more as a starter

Ingredients

18 Shrimp, peeled and deveined

Olive oil

Sazón (click here for recipe)

1 onion, sliced into thick slices

1 bell pepper or poblano pepper, deseed and cut into half or thirds

Salt, to taste

3 slices 2 % American cheese

1 Tbsp. pickled jalapeno, minced

3 Tbsp. reduced fat (1%) milk

Tortilla chips

Directions

Soak skewers in salted water for 20 minutes (click here for a grilling tip). Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Drizzle shrimp with olive oil, sprinkle with Sazón and place on skewers.

Rub onions and peppers with olive oil and season with salt. Place onions and peppers on the grill. Grill for 10 minutes; 5 minutes a side. Place shrimp on the grill. Grill for 4 minutes; 2 minutes a side. Quarter onions and slice peppers; add to a microwave safe bowl with cheese, jalapeno and milk. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir and microwave for another 30 seconds until cheese has melted into a sauce.

Place tortillas on a platter, top with onion/peppers mixture and grilled shrimp. Enjoy!

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