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I thought it would make a great nacho cheese sauce, and what better food to serve at a football party than nachos! They're casual, fun, snack-able, tasty, and just a little messy.  Plus, they're simple to make (it's all about the layering).

Here's how I made my yummy nachos...

CHICKEN HABAÑERO NACHOS

Ingredients:

For the nachos

• 1 bag tortilla chips
• 1 can black beans (drained)
• 2 small or 1 large chicken breasts (shredded)
• 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1/2 cup Cotija cheese (crumbled)

• 1 can Ro*Tel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
• 16oz package of Velveeta cheese
• 1/2 habañero pepper (seeded and finely minced)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic (pressed or finely minced)

Directions:

Spread tortilla chips out on a cookie sheet.

Make sure the black beans are well drained. You want to minimize the liquid to keep the chips crunchy. Spoon the beans over the chips.

I sprinkled the crumbled Cotija cheese on top.

Next, shred the chicken breasts; I just pull them apart with two forks. I like to season the chicken with a little lime juice, salt, and chili powder. Spread the chicken over the chips.

Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes at 350F.

For the cheese sauce, cut the Velveeta in 1 inch cubes, and add to a sauce pan with the Ro*Tel, garlic, and habañero. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the cheese melts and everything is well mixed.

Be careful working with the habañero, wash your hands and wash off your cutting board with soap after you mince it. I only used half of one habañero, and I would say the sauce came out medium-hot. You can add the whole pepper if you like spicy food.

I took this picture before I added the cheese sauce.  I used a spatula to move the chips from the cookie pan to my serving tray. (Don't you like my football dish?)

I poured about half of the cheese sauce over the top. I put the rest in a bowl for dipping.

I garnished with guacamole,  salsa, and a little cilantro on top. This is my favorite simple salsa recipe:

SALSA MEXICANA

Ingredients:

• 1 large or two small tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon chopped Cilantro
• 1/4 large onion - diced
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon diced green chili pepper (I like to use a Poblano)
• pinch of kosher salt

Chop the tomatoes, and dice 1 quarter of a large onion and mix them in a bowl  Add the diced chile pepper, cilantro and lime.  Stir , salt to taste - about 1/2 teaspoon.

To give the nachos a "football party" feel, I added some of our free football printables to the setup. I like to use tented cards to let my guests know what I'm serving.

I also added cupcake toppers to mini vanilla cupcakes to make them more fun!

Here's my "touchdown" banner.

And right now I can't get enough of the in-season satsumas at the farmer's market. I love putting out bowls of delicious fresh fruit at my parties and added fun and unexpected decorations.

Who are you rooting for this season? I'm looking forward to watching Stanford in the Rose Bowl. Go Cardinal!

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by RO*TEL and Velveeta via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of RO*TEL and Velveeta.