Feb 22, 20203 min read

Southern Skillet Queso- 'Gesimas

Updated: Jan 6

It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the sun is out, windows are up, and I've got the kitchen all to myself. In case you missed my last couple of posts we are in the weeks called "Pre-Lent", in particular this week is called Sexagesima, meaning there is 60 days until Easter. An old tradition, before the modern days of refrigeration, was to use up all the meat and perishable food items before Lent begins. That means it's time to do something with all of those dairy items, and the only way to do that in Texas is by making queso. Let me verify how good this is by saying that my husband does not do queso, bless his heart, and he went back for seconds on this one! This is a quick and easy recipe that is great for game days and get togethers. Here is how you do it, ready? You sure?

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 12-14 servings

Ingredients

1. 2 tbsp olive oil

2. 1 small onion, chopped

3. 3 cloves garlic, minced

4. 1 jalapeno

5. 1 cup milk

6. 1 cup browned ground beef

7. 1 can mixed diced tomatoes & green chilis

8. 1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro

9. 12 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

10. 4 oz habanero cheese, shredded

11. Salt & Pepper

12. Tortilla chips

**The meat was already cooked from Taco Tuesday, I made extra knowing that I would be making this recipe, so if you don't already have browned ground beef, please do this before you get yourself going on the queso.**

Taco Tuesday is a tradition of the Fathers that has been passed down and reverenced in our house since we got married.

Now that you have everything in order chop up the small onion (or just do half of a large one like I did), 3 cloves of garlic, and 1/4 cup cilantro. If you want a little more cilantro go for it, I won't tell anybody!

Now for the jalapeno, unless you are wanting some crazy kick in your dip then I suggest you gut it and dice it.

You can set all of that aside to heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in your skillet on medium heat.

Once heated toss in your onions and let them cook until soft and slightly transparent, about 3-4 minutes.

Does anybody else like the smell of onion and garlic cooking in a pan because I love it! I cook almost everything with these two ingredients, even dessert... just kidding, that would be weird.

Add garlic and jalapeno, cook for about 1 minute. Keep the garlic moving so it doesn't burn.

Toss both cheeses in while stirring and then pour in the milk. Keep it all moving as best you can so that it doesn't stick to the pan.

*You can substitute shredded cheese for Velveeta if that's what you like more.

It's beginning to look like queso!

We can now add in the goodies! Toss in one can of diced tomatoes & green chilis then stir to combine. *Drain the can beforehand.*

Sprinkle in the cilantro and just keep stirring, just keep stirring. We got Disney+ so I watched “Finding Nemo” for the first time since my senior year in highschool when all my teachers checked out and played that for us in almost every class. I will not be that teacher!