Texas Motor Speedway Archives

Post Contains Affiliate Links. Read my full disclosure HERE

After a few weeks off from posting my usual Friday Sprint Cup Snacks posts (thanks broken computer!!!!) I’m back with one kick ass recipe that will have you running to the store for the goodies to make this dish this weekend!!

This weekend the boys (and Danica) are racing at Texas Motor Speedway. I figured that I had to make something that would warm up the house (it’s def cold in Boston!!) and something that had a bit of a kick to it! I thinking about making a big huge batch of chili but I started to think about snack food, which made me think about a plate of piled high nachos. (pregnant much?!?) And then I was lamenting one day about how the cafe in my office building has stopped serving tots at breakfast (what the hell?!?). That made me think about combing tater tots and all the best toppings on nachos to make a big pile of these…

Ultimate Tatchos!!

I just love how the tater tots act as the perfect vehicle for all the toppings. Plus the tater tots change things up from the typical crunchy chip.

This is so great to make because you can easily adjust the size of the batch you make for the amount of people you are serving. I highly suggest that you always make more than what you expect to need since everyone will love to snack on the cheesy, spicy tots.

We (Price) are finishing up painting the baby’s room this weekend. Then we are going to assemble the crib so we can get to decorating like crazy since we only have 3 weeks to go. I can’t wait to get in there and reorganize the room and hang up pictures we have picked out. I’m sure we’ll be hungry after all that work, so I’m sure I’ll be whipping up again batch of these Ultimate Tatchos!

Ultimate Tatchos

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 pound of tater tots
1 cup shredded mexican blend cheese
1 1/2 cups canned black beans, rinsed and reheated
1/2 cup salsa (I used the restaurant style salsa from Archer Farms)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 avocado, diced
sliced pickled jalapenos
sliced black olives

Process

Cook the tater tots according to the directions on the packaging. (You want them to be a bit crisp so you might want to add a few minutes actually)
In an oven safe serving dish, layer half of the tater tots, beans, and cheese. Place under the broiler for a minute or so in order to melt the cheese.
Add the rest of the tater tots and top off with the remaining beans and cheese. Again, place under the broiler for a minute or so in order to melt the cheese.
Top off with the salsa, sour cream, avocado, jalapenos, and olives.

When Price and I went to visit our friends Natalie and Jason in Austin last year we fell in love with all of the food we had there. Everything was incredible. I couldn’t get enough of the tacos, bbq, agua fresca, and, of course, queso. (Also couldn’t get enough time hanging with great friends, natch.)

Each and everything we ate was amazing for a different reason. The fantastic Mexican we had at Chuy’s, to the BBQ we got to go after a night of drinking, to the chicken on a biscuit from Whataburger immediately after some bar hoping.

But the one thing that was a constant was the queso we had. We had it every change we had and even while we lamented ‘no more queso’ we loved it. I think there really is a limit to the amount of queso/cheese a person can eat in a few days and I think we were fast approaching that limit. But really, worth indulge. Or at least that is what I kept telling myself after dipped another chip in.

Well since this weekend’s upcoming NASCAR race is at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, I figured that I had to share something for my Sprint Cup Snack that I loved so much about my visit to Texas. Now don’t give me any lip about how Austin and Fort Worth are not that close to each other- 3 hr drive or so- because I say what goes on this blog! ha!

Plus any excuse to eat queso is okay for me.

Natalie emailed me her recipe for queso at a moment’s notice. True friends understand the love of cheese (even if she has gone Paleo now). And let me tell you it was fantastic!!

The queso is incredibly easy to make and would be fantastic to whip up for watching any sporting event, a movie, or having friends over for a side splitting night of Cards Against Humanity. << come over, let’s hang and just be ridiculous.

If you can whip up some simple pico de gallo and can melt some cheese in milk, then you are all set. It’s basically that, plus making a simple rue to thicken it all up. So, so much better than the queso you get in the jar that you microwave. Was that even necessary to say?!?! duh!!

Obviously, queso is best piping hot so it’s super ooey gooey yummy. If you have a little crock pot dip warmer then I suggest you use that to keep it hot and everyone happy.

Dig in!!!!

Texas Queso Dip

Makes 8 snack servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cups milk, room temperature-ish
2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Pico De Gallo

3 plum tomatoes
1/2 of a red onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 a hass avocado
2 jalapenos, seeds removed
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper

Process

Remove the milk from the refrigerator, set aside.
To make the pico de gallo, dice the cored tomatoes, onion, and avocado. Mince the jalapenos and garlic. Combine together and add the cilantro, lime juice, and a generous amount of salt and pepper.
To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook to make a rue, whisking constantly until golden, about 2 minutes. Continue whisking and slowly add the milk. Bring the mixture to a steady simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes.
Combine the cheese sauce and pico de gallo together and enjoy!

slightly adapted from my friend Natalie

____________________

{Sprint Cup Snacks Track Facts}

Texas Motor Speedway seat a whopping 190,000+ people to watch a race. Repeat… 190k+. That was about 3 times the number of people in my whole town when I was growing up. Insane. But everything is bigger in Texas!

Besides being big, it’s also fast. It’s one of the fasted non-restrictor plate races in the series with qualifying speeds in excess of 192 mph and corner entry speeds over 200 mph. And in 2006 for the Dickies 500 qualifying, Brian Vickers shattered the qualifying record at Texas with a speed of 196.235 mph. Crazy.

Gotta enjoy this weekend’s race under the lights!

Track: 1.5 miles

Shape: Oval

Banking: 24 degrees in the turns

Surface: Asphalt

Capacity: 191,122… yep a lot of people!!!!

Race: 334-laps for 501 miles

2012 winner: Greg Briffle

____________________