Chile Con Queso

April 19th 2010

If Indian is our favorite cuisine, Mexican is not far behind at all. The Mr. has a very very passionate affair with cheese in all forms and spices don't hurt him either. And while everything we eat here might he America's Mexican versions, we love it. I say this because not all Indian restaurants depict true Indian dishes and mostly border towards North Indian sabjis. Same I think is true with other cuisines too. We found this to be true when we traveled to China and realised that our favorite Chinese dishes were only available in "P F Changs" and they were not so Chinese in the first place.

But any food that is pleasing to the palate works for us. Chips, Dips and Salsa are favorite starters in most Mexican restaurants especially in most cases the chips and salsa are on the house. I have even read that you can judge the quality of the restaurant by the quality and freshness of their salsa and I think there is a lot of truth to that. And the bean and/or queso dip has always been our favorite.

So when I saw the recipe for this version of the Chile Con Queso, I had to give it a try. And in all modesty I say that this beats any restuarant queso dip I have tried so far hands down! The original has meat in it, and I have modified it to be vegetarian. This is first of my Mexican recipe series that I will posting over the next few days/weeks.

Difficulty level : Easy

Time: 10 min (prep time), 20 min (making time)

Ingredients

• 32 ounces weight Velveeta Cheese Loaf ( found in the Cheese section, non-refrigirated)
• 14.5 oz Diced tomates with Jalapenos
• 1 large onion
• 4 oz hot fire roasted Jalapenos
• 1 lb Old El Paso Vegetarian Refriend Beans (optional)
• 1 bunch spring onions
• Oil

 Method de Preparation

1. Chop the onions finely and in a pan take some oil and saute this till it turns brown. Keep on medium to high heat.
2. Cut Velveeta Cheese into smaller cubes so it will be easier to blend in.
3. Add the cheese cubes, the diced tomatoes and the jalapenos in once the onions have cooked well.
4. If you are using the refried beans, add them at this stage.
5. When done and mixture starts to bubble, top with chopped spring onions and serve chot with chips. 

Chef's Tip: The above ingredients produce a LOT of queso, so make this amount only if you have are having a get-together or you can always store some in the freezer which is what I did.

Variations: I skipped the refriend beans because I wanted just a queso dip and not a bean cheese dip, so based on what you like, take a pick.

Source: Pioneer Woman Cooks