Christmas Queso Dip

Name: Christmas Queso Dip
Total time: 2400 s
Yield: ~6 cups
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 lb Papa George’s® Regular Pork Sausage (see NOTES); 3 – 15 -oz jars -OR- 2 – 23-oz jars Tostitos® Queso Blanco Dip (see NOTES); 1 – 4-oz jar Dromedary® Diced Pimientos (see NOTES); 1 – 4-oz can Hatch™ Fire-Roasted Diced Mild Green Chilies -OR- 1 – 4-oz can Oretega™ Diced Jalapeños (see NOTES); 2 Tbsp Kirkland Signature™ Chopped Onion

Nona Cooks @NonaCooks

I worked for a travel business that loved having themed pot-luck parties throughout the year. I wound up being one of the last ones to sign up for a Mexican-themed Christmas Party. The only 2 categories left were desserts and appetizers. I so was not going to do desserts for 100+ people! So I came up with this queso dip using pantry items and fresh sausage. I brought in 2 old Tupperware Fix-n-Mix bowls of tortilla chips and a double batch of queso, one with green chilies and one with jalapeños. They scraped both slow-cookers clean and there wasn't a single tortilla crumb left in either bowl! Recipe is: © 2002-2022, Sheryl Ann Umstead-Kelly, All rights reserved.

Nona Cooks @NonaCooks

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Ingredients

40 mins

~6 cups

1 lbPapa George’s® Regular Pork Sausage (see NOTES)
3– 15 -oz jars -OR- 2 – 23-oz jars Tostitos® Queso Blanco Dip (see NOTES)
1– 4-oz jar Dromedary® Diced Pimientos (see NOTES)
1– 4-oz can Hatch™ Fire-Roasted Diced Mild Green Chilies -OR- 1 – 4-oz can Oretega™ Diced Jalapeños (see NOTES)
2 TbspKirkland Signature™ Chopped Onion

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Steps

40 mins

1

Fry the sausage well in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; it should be crumbly and crispy. Put the sausage on a pile of paper towels and push all the grease out with a wad of paper towels; push down hard to get all the grease out. Repeat the process with fresh paper towels if necessary. You want as much of the grease out of the sausage as possible. Grease floating on top of cheese is not appetizing and tastes terrible. Clean the Dutch oven well and return the cooked sausage to it.
2

While the sausage is cooking, reconstitute the dried chopped onion by putting it in a small microwave bowl and adding enough water to cover the pieces. Microwave for 30 second intervals, until the onion has soften. Drain completely and reserve. Drain the the pimento, green chilies or jalapeños well. Give them light dabs with paper towels to get as much liquid out as you can.
3

Add the reconstituted onions, pimento, green chilies or jalapeños to the cooked sausage and mix. Add queso dip to the sausage mixture and stir to mix well. Heat the queso dip over medium heat until it's warmed through. Keep the dip warm and serve with your favorite tortilla chip.
4

For a large party you can double the recipe and transfer the dip to a 6-quart slow-cooker set on warm. Make sure you have plenty of chips!
5

STORAGE: This keeps for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator and is great for snacks and light lunches. Only take what you want and reheat it in the microwave. DO NOT refrigerate reheated dip!!! It can be frozen for up to 6 months. I use a ½-cup silicone mold tray to freeze up a bunch of 'queso cubes,' then store them in 1-gallon bags in the freezer. Just grab a cube and microwave it in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until warmed through.
6

NOTES: These are the brands that work best for me, however, use whatever brands you like. I like Papa George's® sausage the best, as it's much lower in fat than other sausages and has a great flavor. If I can't find Papa George's®, I use fresh sausage from our local butcher. Bob Evans® is a decent substitute I've tried and it's relatively inexpensive too. When using a different brand of green chilies, just make sure they're fire roasted.