February 24 is National Tortilla Chip Day! Tortilla chips are defined as pieces of corn tortillas fried or baked to a crisp. Often eaten as a snack, it goes well with dips like salsa and guacamole. In our home, we often eat it as a side to accompany our Tex-Mex meals as well. I like to have that crunch when I eat something Tex-Mex!

The invention of the tortilla chip is widely accredited to Rebecca Carranza. She had misshapen tortillas she wasn’t going to serve and cut them into pieces. She then fried them and served them as a snack at her party. Soon after, her and her husband were bagging and selling dime bags of chips to family, friends and neighbors.

Since then, tortilla chips have only grown in popularity. Today, they are sold in over 100 countries. They are a staple in Tex-Mex and Mexican food alike and have become one of Mexico’s biggest exports. There are many brands to choose from and flavors as well. You can even get a blue corn tortilla chip.

The nacho is probably the most popular way to eat tortilla chips. Nachos came about from restaurateur Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya. He had to improvise a meal for U.S. military wives with very limited ingredients. He fried corn tortillas, added melted cheese and jalapeños and made food history. When asked by one of the wives what the dish was called, he named it after himself and called it the Nacho Special. Today, Mexicans eat an average of over 100 nachos per year per person! And that’s just Mexicans! That’s a lot of nachos worldwide!

I so enjoy making things like these at home as it allows me to control the salt that goes into what I am eating. It didn’t really take that long either. A couple of things to note. I found the air fryer crisped them up nicer than the oven, but I had to make them in smaller batches so it took longer. Also, if you want the chips flavored on both sides, do the oil treatment and seasonings on both sides. I didn’t do this as seasoning the one side was enough for me. One last thing, you can easily use corn or flour tortillas for any of these recipes. I used mainly corn to keep it more traditional. This weekend, check your ingredients and make your grocery list, picking up extra tortillas. Then, meet me in the kitchen for this easy snack!

Cinnamon Chips and Apple Pie Dip 4-5 8” flour tortillas 3 Tbsps. butter, melted 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 2 Tbsps. granulated sugar Dip: 2-3 apples, peeled, cored and diced (approximately 2 cups), use your favorite apple 2 Tbsps. lemon juice 2 Tbsps. packed brown sugar ½ tsp. ground cinnamon 2 Tbsps. water 1 tsp. cornstarch diluted in 1 tsp. hot water Place tortillas on top of each other and with pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut into triangles, like you would pizza. Place cut tortillas in single layer on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush each piece with melted butter. In small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle over tortillas, to taste. Place tortilla pieces in air fryer in single layer. Cook in air fryer at 350°F for 5 minutes or until golden. Remove and let them cool on cooling rack. Repeat steps 6 to 8 until all tortilla pieces are done. In the meantime, dilute cornstarch in water. Set aside. In saucepan over medium heat, add apples, lemon juice, brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix for 2-3 minutes or until moisture starts to come out of apples. Add 2 tablespoons of water and stir. When boiling, add diluted cornstarch to pan. Whisk for 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce thickens. Cool for few minutes and serve with cinnamon sugar tortilla chips. Serve cinnamon chips with warm apple pie dip.

Recipe adapted from thekitchenbucketlist. com.

Air Fryer Spiced Chips

6 corn tortillas 1 Tbsp. avocado oil 1 tsp. paprika ½-1 tsp. Cajun seasoning, to taste (I used 1 tsp.)

½-1 tsp. garlic powder, to taste Stack tortillas and cut into 6 equal(ish) pieces. Place cut tortillas on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush each piece with oil. Mix paprika, Cajun and garlic in small bowl. Sprinkle combined seasonings evenly over oiled tortilla pieces. Set air fryer to 350°F. How many you can cook at a time will depend on the size of your air fryer and how much time you want to take. If you have a small air fryer, cook a quarter to half of the pieces at a time. They will cook quicker if you only do a single layer, but they will also take much longer. Because the air fryer circulates the air around them, you can get away with kind of tossing them in small batches. After 6 minutes, check chips. Some may already be done. Remove them now or they will burn by the time the rest are done. Cook another 2-4 minutes or until all are golden. Remove chips from air fryer. Repeat with remaining chips until done. If you have a large air fryer, you should be able to do them all in one batch and just remove chips as they are done.

Note: These can have a kick if you don’t evenly season or if you can’t handle spices well. Feel free to use less Cajun if needed.

Garlic Parmesan Chips

6 corn tortillas 1 Tbsp. avocado oil Garlic powder with herbs Parmesan cheese Preheat oven to 425°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Stack tortillas and cut into 6 equal(ish) pieces. Arrange cut tortillas in single layer on prepared baking sheet. Brush each piece with oil. Sprinkle garlic powder on each piece followed by parmesan cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes or until chips are browned and crisp. There is a fine line here. Check them at 10 minutes and then every two minutes until they are as done as you want. 10 minutes for me was not enough but 15 minutes was on the verge of burnt.

Ranch Flavored Chips

6 corn tortillas 1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice 1 tsp. dried parsley 1 tsp. dried dill 1 tsp. garlic powder 1 tsp. onion powder 1 tsp. nutritional yeast 1 tsp. chives (freeze dried) ¼ tsp. salt ⅛ tsp. paprika ¼ tsp. pepper Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Stack tortillas and cut into 6 equal(ish) pieces. Arrange cut tortillas in single layer on prepared baking sheet. Combine all seasonings in small bowl. If possible, pulverize in food processor or grind with mortar and pestle to make them finer. Brush each piece with lemon juice. Sprinkle evenly with combined seasonings. Bake 10 minutes. Flip chips. Season again here if desired. Bake 8-10 minutes more or until browned and crisp.

Recipe adapted from mentalforlentils. com.