Crockpot Queso

My all-time favorite kitchen appliance is my Crockpot. Seriously, everyone should own one. Anytime someone I know is getting married and asks me for Registry advice, I always tell them that the first thing they should register for is a Crockpot. Jared's fraternity brother, Michael Boden, bought us our Crockpot as a wedding gift and it is still probably my favorite wedding gift.

So we all know that I hate to cook, but we do a lot of tailgating and going over to our friends' houses for cookouts so I always have to think of something to make that is within my realm of cooking skills. Everyone like chips and queso, so I have two queso recipes to share that both simply involve throwing some stuff in a Crockpot. They are both quick, cheap, easy to make, and easy to transport.

Crockpot Queso #1 

Chili is one of my favorite meals to make. However, you can never make just a little bit of chili. Every time I make chili, I end up with enough to feed an entire football team. Well, after eating leftover chili for about a week, I'm sick of it. However, I don't want to just throw it away so I just make something else out of it.

Take your leftover chili and add an 8oz. block of softened cream cheese. (Just leave it in the same Crockpot! No need to dirty extra dishes) Once the cream cheese is all melted, add about 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and melt it altogether in the Crockpot.

Ta-da! You now have chili queso! Cheap, easy and resourceful...and no one ever needs to know that you used your own leftovers to make it :)

Crockpot Queso #2

Warning: people with heart-related health conditions should probably stay away from this queso. It's like a heart-attack in a Crockpot.

What You Will Need

1 lb. of Lean Ground Beef

28oz. can of Rotel

32oz. block of Velveeta cheese

*Alternate cheese option: use 24oz. of Velveeta and 8 oz. of cream cheese for extra heart-attack goodness

Brown the ground beef in a pan and drain the grease. Put the Crockpot on high heat and add the ground beef with the entire can of Rotel (drained). Begin cutting the block of Velveeta cheese into smaller cubes and gradually add them to the Crockpot as it heats up. 

Continue to add cheese, stirring occasionally as it melts. Once all the cheese is melted, the queso is going to be a little soupy. Turn the Crockpot off and allow the cheese to cool and congeal. (Just as the cheese is going to be congealing around your arteries later) I recommend making the queso the night before your event. You can put it in the refrigerator over night and then reheat it in the morning. This will help the cheese thicken up and be more like a dip instead of a soup. 

Turn the Crockpot back on and allow the queso to reheat. Servce with chips and probably beer (just to help you from thinking about how bad what you are eating is for your health). Enjoy the cheesy deliciousness!