Nacho Scoops — Something Corn-Based for the Cast Iron Kind of Week

The Bull Mountains in haze. Three days of farrier work. Two ranches in the county. Eleven horses. The body is tired in the right way.

Patrick on the porch in the afternoon. Coffee in the good cup. The cottonwoods.

Cornbread in the cast iron. Crisp edge.

Tomorrow I move the herd to the upper pasture. That is the next thing.

Hauled three bull calves to the auction yard Wednesday. Got a fair price. Came home. Counted the cash. Put it in the ranch account.

Truck started cold Tuesday. Twelve below. Battery is the original. I will replace it before next winter. I always say I will replace it before next winter. I never have.

The Musselshell was clear Sunday. Could see trout in the deeper pools. Did not fish. Just watched.

Storm came through Friday night. Thunder. The dog hid under the bed. The kids slept through it. The cattle bunched up by the windbreak. Standard.

Took a walk to the river before supper Tuesday. The cottonwoods were silver. The water was running. I did not think much. I just walked.

The wood pile is half what it was at Thanksgiving. I will split another cord on Saturday. The cord will be ready by next winter. The wood always is.

The barn cats are doing their job. Down to one mouse this week, in the feed shed. The cats brought it to the porch as proof. They are professionals.

Drove to Billings for parts Friday. Stopped at the cemetery on the way home. Stood for ten minutes. Came home.

A neighbor's heifer was choking on a corn cob. I drove over with my emergency kit. Cleared the cob with a length of garden hose. The heifer recovered. The neighbor brought a pie the next day.

Worked on the truck Saturday afternoon. Plugs and wires. Two hours. Hands black with grease. Came in. Showered. Ate.

A reader emailed about the elk chili recipe. Asked what beer to use if non-alcoholic was not available. I wrote back: any beer is wrong if you don't drink. Use stock.

Listened to the cattle market report on AM radio while I worked the shop. Beef is up. Feed is up. The math is the math.

Drove the back fence line Saturday. Two posts down from elk. Replaced them in the morning. The fence held the rest of the week.

Mr. Whelan from down the road came over Saturday with a story about a horse he sold in 1979. The story took an hour. I listened. He needed someone to tell it to.

Hank, the dog, herded the chickens by accident. He apologized in the way dogs apologize — eyes down, tail low. The chickens were unimpressed.

Wrote a blog post Friday night. The first one in two months. About making chili in a snowstorm. Short. Practical. Posted it. Forgot about it.

Mended the chute hinge Wednesday. Welder was finicky. Got it on the third try. Patrick used to do this. I do it now.

Three days of horses this week. The work is meditative. The horses know. The owners pay. The cycle holds.

The Tuesday Roundup AA meeting was eleven this week — three new guys from a referral. The room was full. The coffee was strong.

The cornbread was already done by the time Patrick came in off the porch — crisp edge, cast iron, the way it always is — and there wasn’t much left to say about the week. But on the nights when the work has been physical and the miles have been real and the woodpile is half what it was, sometimes you want something you can put together fast and eat standing at the counter. Nacho Scoops are that. Corn-based, satisfying, no ceremony required — the same logic as the cornbread, just a different shape.

Nacho Scoops

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 bag (10 oz) scoop-shaped tortilla chips
• 1 lb ground beef or ground venison
• 1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup pickled jalapeño slices
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook the meat. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef or venison, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain excess fat. Add taco seasoning and water, stir to combine, and simmer 3–4 minutes until liquid is mostly absorbed. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Arrange the scoops. Spread scoop chips in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet or oven-safe platter. Nestle them opening-side up as best you can — they don’t need to be perfect.
3. Add meat and cheese. Spoon a small amount of seasoned meat into each chip. Top evenly with shredded cheddar.
4. Broil. Place under the broiler on the center rack for 3–5 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbling. Watch closely — the chips will catch fast if left too long.
5. Top and serve. Remove from the oven. Add jalapeño slices, a small dollop of sour cream, a spoonful of salsa, and a scatter of green onions. Serve immediately from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 410 | Protein: 22g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 27g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 680mg