My favorite Super Bowl dip!

I hope every ones Super Bowl was as fabulous as mine was! Although I know nothing about football, I thoroughly enjoyed my SB Sunday because I made an AWESOME Chili Con Queso dip! I wasn't really planning a big Super Bowl event, but my plans took a turn and we ended up having a Super Bowl party at our house. Long story short, I had to find recipes and I had to find them fast!

I always want Chili Con Queso dip at Super Bowl parties, but it seems the entire world only knows how to make it with Velveeta ...and I am pretty sure I took a vow never to eat that stuff from the first day I saw it. I was really craving this Chili Con Queso dip and wanted to make a great homemade version. I found the best recipe EVER. The recipe is below from the "Homesick Texan" blog:

Chile Con Queso

Ingredients:

1/2 onion diced (about 1/2 cup)

4 cloves of garlic minced

3 Serrano peppers diced

3 jalapeno peppers diced

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of flour

1 cup of milk

6 cups of shredded cheese, can use any combination of cheddar and Monterrey Jack

1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped

2 plum tomatoes, peeled and diced (about 1 cup, can use canned if tomatoes aren’t in season)

1/2 cup of sour cream

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium-low heat, and then cook the onions and peppers for about five minutes or until onions are translucent.

2. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

3. Whisk the flour into the butter, vegetable mix and cook for about 30 seconds.

4. Add the milk to the pot, and cook on medium, whisking constantly until sauce is thick, about five minutes. Stir in the cilantro and tomatoes.

5. Turn heat down to low, and a 1/4-cup at a time, slowly add the shredded cheese stirring into the white sauce until completely melted. Repeat.

6. Stir in the sour cream.

7. Add salt to taste.

Serves four.

Notes: You can vary which chiles you use to control how hot you want the queso to be. Also, if the sauce is too thick, feel free to add a bit more milk a tablespoon at a time. The key, however, to a smooth sauce is adding the cheese very slowly and not adding any more cheese until the previous addition is completely integrated into the sauce.

My review

This recipe is GREAT! It is a good junk food kind of a dip that you would only eat during a sports show. It is surprisingly fresh tasting because of the cilantro. It is not really heavy and does not make you feel bloated and nasty like the other "fake" kind might make you feel. It is super easy to make. Everyone at the Super Bowl party LOVED it and couldn't get enough. Here's a note to future makers of this dish- you need a lot of cheese and you really have to let the cheese melt completely before adding more. Also, you may be scared if you see the texture of the melted cheese, but the cheese does not actually get creamy and smooth until you add the sour cream.

YUMMY! 

Gracias "Homesick Texan" for that great Chili Con Queso!

Allie's Kitchen is now on Facebook!

Allie's Kitchen now has a Facebook fan page.

 Please click here to become a fan!

To become a fan, click "Like."

Thank you :-)

My KITCHEN don't STINK!

Have you ever been to someone’s house, and the second you open the door a horrendous smell hits you like a brick wall? It smells like they just got done frying a fish, or perhaps there is a secret McDonald’s hidden somewhere in their basement? Well, I have been to a house like this before. Unless the person is unusually gross and messy, the odor could be coming from their kitchen. Sometimes the foods we cook leave odors that linger around the house. Besides cleaning the kitchen, I have another solution to this problem that does NOT require spraying Febreze in every square inch of my home. 

The solution requires the following ingredients:

-       1 Orange

-       Cloves

-       A stock pot or any pot to boil water

-       Water

Here’s what you do:

1)    Slice the oranges. Doesn’t matter how thin.

2)    Throw the oranges in the pot with a handful of cloves.

3)    Fill pot with water and place on stove.

4)    Let the water bowl on medium throughout the day. (Of course, do this on a day that you are going to be home and turn it off when you leave!)

The scent of the oranges mixed with the cloves brings an amazing aroma to the entire house! When the water starts to get low, just add more and keep it simmering. Not only does this provide an instant odor solution, but also it keeps the house a bit more humid in the dry winter months. Thanks Mom for teaching me this trick….hehe!

Enjoy!

Snowed in? NO PROBLEM!

Many people all across America were snowed in yesterday. Some were disappointed, but I was ecstatic! I was so full of JOY because I knew I could stay warm & cozy indoors next to my fireplace and cook the chicken pot pies I have been dying to make! Too bad my other passion isn't exercise...LOL. So, I was able to cook these delicious pot pies using a recipe I found on Food Network by Ina Garten. The only problem I had was that I was trapped inside and could not leave to go to the grocery store so I had to use what was in my kitchen! Fortunately I had almost everything, except I used a pre-made crust instead of making my own. I KNOW....I know...thats the BEST part! So, I cannot honestly make a review of this recipe because I did not follow it completely, but it still was AWESOME! Theres nothing like a hot chicken pot pie on a cold, cold snow day! 

Click here to get the recipe now! 

Check out my chicken pot pies in the oven:

Allie is in the HOUSE...well...kitchen!

Hello there! Welcome to my blog. I am a young cook learning the tricks of the trade. I have been cooking for about 2 years now and I love it! Cooking has become one of my biggest interests and greatest passions. Although I am still a novice, I would like to post my new cooking experiences on this blog to document my journey. I like to cook new things and am always open to new recipes…so you have any, feel free to post! I will mostly be cooking other peoples recipes and reviewing them. I will post a few of my own, as well. I will try to post a video at least once a week and I will post many pictures along the way. I will also be posting some craft ideas, holiday decorating tips, and much more! Stay tuned :-)

Thank you for following and please follow me on Twitter:

www.twitter.com/AlliesKitchen

Please send any recipes or other ideas to this address:

inthekitchenwithallie@gmail.com