Chile Con Queso from New Mexico

One of the first New Mexico recipes I learned to make when I moved to New Mexico was this Chile Con Queso which was served at about every party and get-together I attended. This concoction was never meant to be a health food. The main ingredient is Velveeta. Now you may ask, as I did, what Velveeta is doing in a traditional New Mexican dish. My research tells me it was the first cheese that didn’t need to be refrigerated, so it was a boon to those households that had little refrigeration. 

We made this for our family “Thanksmas” last week, and had some leftover, so I put it in the ham and bean soup I made. Delicioso!  T’would be good in posole too.

Servings: 8    Serving size: ¼ cup    Preparation time: 30 minutes    Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients 1 cup onions, minced 2 medium garlic cloves, minced 3 tablespoons of butter 15 ounces tomato sauce 4 ounces canned diced green chiles. 3 teaspoons N.M. chile powder   ​(or 2 tablespoons Secret Santa Fe Red Chile Sauce) 8 ounces Velveeta cheese

Directions 1. In a medium saucepan, saute onion and garlic in butter until soft. 2. Add the tomato sauce and chile powder and simmer for thirty minutes. 3. Add the Velveeta and the green chiles. Stir over medium to low heat until the cheese is melted. 4. Serve in a small crockpot or cheese fondue pot to keep warm, along with a basket of corn tortillas.

I hope you enjoy this dish. Let me know if you’ve tried it and how it turned out.  

Good cooking to you,

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