Thursday, March 20, 2014

Queso Fundido


Occasionally instead of a traditional meal we like to have a few different appetizers for our dinner. It gives this mama a chance to try out some new recipes and the kids don't mind having finger foods and the like. That's what we did a couple Sundays ago. We made up a good size skillet of this cheesy dip and dug right in.

I've come across recipes for queso fundido but had never made it before. I first spotted it in my Not Your Mother's Make Ahead and Freeze Cookbook. Interesting, I know, especially as a freezer meal. I keep reminding myself to give that a try.

Then as I was doing a little menu planning one day, I stumbled on The Pioneer Woman's version. Sounded easy enough and who doesn't like a good plate of cheesy goodness?


Everyone loved it, we pretty much devoured the whole pan, only leaving a tiny bit. I can only imagine how much better this appetizer would taste during the summer, when tomatoes and peppers are at their peak flavor here in the Midwest.

Queso Fundido

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. mild pork sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
16 oz. block Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 small tomatoes, diced
handful of cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, diced
Tortilla chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a 10-inch skillet {oven-safe}, cook diced peppers over medium heat for about 5-6 minutes, just until softened. Remove from stove and transfer to a plate.

In the same skillet, add 1/3 of the grated cheese to the bottom. Then sprinkle half of the cooked sausage over top of cheese. Top with another 1/3 of the cheese, then about 3/4 of your peppers {save the rest for omelets or a frittata the next day}. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese and sausage. Lightly sprinkle the top of the mixture with both the cumin and chili powder.

Place skillet in the oven and let cook for a good 5 minutes. Cheese should be completely melted.

Remove from oven and immediately top with diced tomatoes and avocado. Serve with tortilla chips. Feel free to return back to oven for a couple minutes if cheese needs to be melted again.

Adapted from: The Pioneer Woman

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Speaking of freezer cooking, it's been almost a year since I've hosted a freezer swap with some friends. This Saturday, five other gals and I will be getting together to cook the day away! We're each preparing 2 main dish recipes and 1 side item. All in all, we plan to go home with 18 different dishes to stow away in our freezers. Fun times, be sure to watch for an update!

1 comment:

  1. This looks amazing. I need to save this for a get together or else my husband and I will eat the whole thing!

    ReplyDelete

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