Easy Cheesy And Delicious Queso Dip

When I was growing up we had family that lived in Tuscon, Arizona, which is where I think this recipe originated from.  Our cousins and Aunt in the Southwest introduced us to this amazingly cheesy dip that was so easy to make and always had people hoarding the bowl and the hips digging for more. Every holiday event or visit with the family always included an evening or afternoon with a bowl of this belly filling delight. 

One of the key ingredients in this dip are green chilies and tomatoes, that happen to be packaged quite nicely in a can of Rotel that you usually find in the"ethnic" section of your grocery store. The other ingredient is a lovely box of Velveeta cheese. Yes, Velveeta, the product that my friend Dan swears is made with petroleum.  The package says it is mostly milk, but a number of online forums say that it is petroleum based which is why the cheese is shelf stable. This concept FREAKS me out a little bit.  To think that something that is primarily dairy can sit on the shelf for years without breaking down or making someone die.

At any rate... the cheese sauce is very easy to make. All you need is a big thing of Velveeta and a can or two, depending on how tomatoey you want your dip, of Rotel.  If you cannot find Rotel, buy a can or two of chopped tomatoes and a can of diced chilies.  Place all of the ingredients into a microwave safe bowl and cook on high for 5 minutes. Remove, stir well and cook for 3 or 4 more minutes or until all of the cheesy goodness has melted.

To spice up our version we added some Poblano peppers that we roasted in the oven for about 45 minutes at 300 degrees.  Once they were done roasting we cut in half, removed the seeds and then chopped them up and added to the dip. 

You can also add chorizo to give it some meaty goodness and more flavor.

Serve with chips.