Full Bellies, Happy Men

A well fed crew is a happy and healthy one. Like in most social settings, it is food that brings people together. The firehouse is certainly no exception.  Shopping, preparing food, and eating together builds a unique camaraderie among firefighters and provides a chance to blow off some steam between calls.
Taking a proactive role in the kitchen is of utmost importance and a great way to quickly score high marks with your crew members/officers. When it comes to firehouse cooking, it takes 100 good meals to make up for one really bad one. And if the meal is bad enough, it can haunt you your entire career. Don't ask, just trust me on this one.  Uuugh!
We have a budget, yes... even when it comes to the food bill.  We have a set budget (everyone contributes $$$ on a weekly basis) and we do our best not to go over that.  No, tax payers do not flip the bill for our groceries.  We are 100% responsible for our own meals while on duty.  We simply pool our money together to purchase our groceries.  Certain meals can end up being very expensive, so we have to keep in mind of what and how much ingredients will be required before we head out to the store, or one of us will be absorbing the extra expense. There are many meals that I do, that I will only prepare if the items are on sale, otherwise it ends up going way over budget.
We buy in bulk when we can because nothing can ruin a great meal more than having to ration it out, because it came up a little short. A good meal not only tastes great, it also fills everyone up.
Time is also an important factor. Dishes that require hours of prep work are not recommended or they have to be prepared off duty and brought in to the station. Simply because, in the event of a fire or any other call, we may be gone for several hours, and the meal will need to be postponed.  Thank goodness for crock pots, which we have five of in our kitchen!
So... what do I feed a crew of six with the munchies at 11:42pm on a slow (knock on wood) Friday night?
I throw some ♫ good tunes on ♫♫, George Thorogood to be exact, and I take to the kitchen to prepare some hearty nachos to fill their bellies!
I tried making this one like a lasagna with different layers of nacho goodness. The members of my whine, bitch, piss and moan club, aka: my crew, announced that it was the best!