Monday, September 17, 2012

The Real Con Queso



Happy Nom Nom Monday!  I'm not a big sports fan, but I know a lot of people are, and today's recipe is the perfect Game Night snack.  I love cheese dip, but whenever I buy a jar of con queso I feel my arteries clogging.  So I hunted the internet for a homemade version.  Not that cheese dip can magically become healthy, but I can at least know exactly what is entering my body, and have control over the amount of sodium in the mix.  Searching the internet for homemade con queso turns up a lot of recipes where you simply mix velveta and rotel tomatoes.  Not exactly the kind of recipe I was looking for, but after some digging I stubbled upon the Homesick Texan's blog, and her recipe for A More Natural Con Queso.  

Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons of salted butter
- 1/2 cup of onion
- 1/2 cup of jalapeno peppers
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 1 cup of milk
- 1/2 cup of cilantro
- 2 plum tomatoes
- 6 cups of shredded cheese (any mixture will do)
- 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
I started off by preparing all my ingredients.  I diced the onion, peppers, and tomatoes.  I minced the garlic, and chopped up the cilantro.  I also measured out the butter, flour, milk, and shredded cheese.  For the shredded cheese I used straight cheddar, and a four cheese mexican blend.  


Then I  melted the butter in a large saucepan over medium to low heat.  Once the butter was melted I sautéed the onion and jalapeno peppers for about five minutes.  Then I added the garlic, and after about a minute I added the flour.  Then I whisked in the milk, creating a thick rue.  Next I mixed in the tomatoes and cilantro.  

Now for the cheeses.  I added them a 1/4 cup at a time, making sure the cheese melted before I added the next scoop.  When I had melted all six cups of cheese into the mixture I measured out and dropped in the sour cream.  The sour cream is the final touch, making the whole mixture come together.  

This is super tasty, and not ultra spicy either.  I think next time I want to use some stronger cheeses, and more jalapeno peppers for a stronger kick though.  This recipe makes a lot, so it's perfect for a get-together, but if you're not entertaining I would suggest cutting the recipe in half.  

Have a great night, and happy DIYing, chris!