Chile con Queso Superbowl Dip

Get ready for your Superbowl party with this great homemade Queso dip.  This recipe was a part of a Christmas gift from my sister and she received the recipe from a friend.  It is a great replacement for the canned cheese that you tend to see at football parties.  Subtly spicy and with great cheese flavor, this warm dip is a great compliment to veggies or chips.

Chile con Queso

Adapted from a recipe from my sister

Makes approximately 3-4 cups of dip

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic diced or finely shredded

1 tbsp. chopped onion or dried chopped onion

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. flour

1 cup milk

1 tbsp. dried cilantro or chopped fresh

1 can tomatoes with green chilies

4 cups shredded Mexican cheese mix or Colby jack mix (I used a bag of Mexican blend with the taco seasoning and a bag of the Colby jack.)

½ cup sour cream

*For extra heat add 3 diced jalapeno peppers while sautéing the onions and garlic.

·         Melt butter on medium heat in 2 quart sauce pan on stove

·         Add garlic and onion and sauté about 1-2 minutes, do not brown

·         Whisk in flour and mix for 30 seconds

·         Add the milk ½ a cup at a time whisking between additions

·         Cook on medium heat until just beings to boil, stirring constantly.

·         Add cilantro and canned tomatoes, stir

·         Turn heat to low

·         Slowly add cheese 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition until melted.

·         Add sour cream, stir to incorporate and then remove from heat.

·         Place cheese dip in a small crock pot on low or in a fondue pot.  Serve warm with veggies, tortilla chips or bread for dipping. 

·         Also great on tacos or in enchiladas.

Mini Caprese Salad

Berry Trifle with Orange Cream, Mini Caprese Salads and Chocolate Covered Strawberries (all chocolate dipping was done by a co-worker and so I unfortunately can't take credit for the beautiful platter on the end pic!)

I recently hosted a happy hour for my department for two fabulous women who are retiring. I enjoy hosting as it gives me an excuse to beak out my nice dishes and really give my house a good cleaning. As I was racking my brain for something light and healthy, but also a finger food (two things that don't always go together) when I came across a great idea from Barbara Bakes. She put the mini salad on an entire skewer, but I was looking for something a bit more compact than that. So I decided why not use a toothpick. I bought a container of the mini mozzarella balls, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil. I stacked a tomato, piece of basil leaf and then a motz ball. They ended up fitting perfectly. I finished with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper. They were a huge hit!