1. Prep the beans: follow instructions on the bag for over night or quick soak, then drain soak water
2. Cook the beans: in a large soup pot, bring soaked beans, chicken stock, diced onion, ham hock, Green thunder Smoked Spice Mix, andor peppers chili mix, bay leaves, and other spices to a boil, turn down to simmer and let cook for 2 hours (you can do this in a crock pot or instapot too – let the beans cook until tender on low).
3. cook the chicken: add the ground chicken to a heated skillet, throw in a little sea salt and garlic powder. cook until chicken is browned, loosely chopping it as you go. once finished, drain meat and set aside.
4. make the white chicken chili: remove ham hock and bay leaves from the beans. pour in 1/2 of the evaporated milk can. mix the corn starch into 1/4 of the evaporated milk can (leaving 1/4 of the original can for the cheese sauce) stirring or whisking until all lumps are gone, then pour into the soup pot/slow cooker. add the chicken, bring to boil over medium-high heat until chili thickens, then reduce heat to simmer, leaving on stove uncovered until ready to finish the nachos.
5. prep the nachos: pre-heat oven to 400, line a sheet pan with foil and brush with olive oil. Lay tortilla chips out in single layer and sprinkle a 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese evenly over chips. bake in oven until cheese is melted and tortilla chips begin to brown, remove from oven and set aside.
6. make the cheese sauce: in a medium sauce pan, add the remaining 1/4 can of evaporated milk, minced jalapeño, and 1-1/2 cups of shredded cheese. bring to simmer over medium heat, reduce to simmer, let cook uncovered until cheese is fully melted and sauce begins to thicken.
7. finish the nachos: spoon out desired amount of chili over nachos, layer on cheese sauce, and sprinkle remaining shredded cheese on top. bake until top layer of cheese is melted (~10 minutes), remove from oven and drizzle green thunder hot sauce on top to taste.
8. serve the nachos: you can put out whatever toppings you prefer! we serve ours with salsa verde, a side salad, and jalapeño margaritas. Green onion, fresh diced tomatoes, sour cream, and fresh guacamole are all great topping choices too. Enjoy!
