Recipe: Spicy Sasuage Queso Dip

Party-Size Spicy Sausage Queso Dip (serves 50-75) 

6 lb can nacho cheese sauce* (Sam's club, or 5 - 6 16 oz. blocks Velveeta)

2 lbs reg. hot pork sausage, browned, crumbled, and drained

1-2 jars salsa (use hot salsa to add more heat to your dip)

4 oz can diced green chiles 

Few pinches of red pepper flakes, optional (if you want to spice it up)

Instructions: 

1. Brown sausage, crumble, and drain well. 
2. Add all ingredients to a crockpot (I use a slow cooker liner for fast and easy clean up). Cook on low until melted and warm, stirring frequently. 
3. Turn crockpot to warm. Enjoy with tortilla chips.

*Cook's Note:  Nacho cheese sauce has already been thinned and is not solid like Velveeta and is already flavored, unlike Velveeta. It is also much less than expensive than Velveeta (but contains yellow dyes, whereas Velveeta uses naturally-derived annatto coloring).

If you are only making dip for a small group of people: 

Spicy Sausage Queso Dip (serves 10-15) 

2 - 3 16 oz. blocks Velveeta cheese

1 lb spicy sausage, browned, crumbled, and drained (use hot sausage for extra spicy dip) 

1 jar salsa 

Few pinches of red pepper flakes, optional (if you want to spice it up)

Same instructions as the first.

Recipe: Chicken Enchilada Soup #1

Our good friends make the best chicken enchilada soup. I didn't have their recipe, so I created this one. My husband LOVED it, and so did the kids!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

by Mrs. Lee

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken breast, whole, sprinkled with Lawry's Garlic Salt

1 T. olive oil (optional)

1 c. water

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1 T. minced onion

1/4-1/2 t. cumin

1 can red enchilada sauce, mild

1 small call green chilis, diced

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1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

1 c. sour cream

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Toppings:

1 can olives, sliced

sour cream

extra shredded cheese

tortilla chips

Directions

1. Cook chicken in a frying pan (in olive oil, if desired). Remove chicken and set on cutting board. Deglaze frying pan by adding 1 c. water; pour into large sauce pan. Dice chicken and add to sauce pan.

2. Add cream of chicken, minced onion, cumin and enchilada sauce to chicken. Stir well. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

3. About 5 minutes before you plan to eat the soup, add sour cream and cheddar cheese to soup. Mix well until cheese is completely melted. (Do not bring to a boil or cook longer than 5 minutes once you add the cheese or sour cream since we don't want these ingredients to turn grainy or become curdled.)

4. Serve soup topped with olives, sour cream, cheddar cheese and tortilla chips.

Cook's Note: Many other recipes call for masa harina, a special corn dough that is dried and made into flour (NOT corn meal). This one is easy and you can make it without the masa harina. Also, other recipes call for green enchilada sauce. Use whatever your preference is.

Recipe: Stacked Enchiladas

This is a modified version of the stacked enchiladas I enjoy practically every time we go to visit Heath's parents in New Mexico.

Stacked Enchiladas
by Alana Lee

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
½ onion, chopped
2 (15 oz.) cans tomato sauce
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilis
1/8 tsp cumin
2-3 T chili powder, or to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
corn tortillas
fixins’: shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, chopped onions, salsa, sour cream, guacamole

Brown beef and drain. Add onions, tomato sauce, green chilis, and spices. Bring to boil. Simmer 20 minutes.

To serve: dip one corn tortilla in meat sauce for a few seconds, place it on your plate, and spoon meat sauce on top of tortilla. Layer tortillas and meat sauce as desired. Top with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole (as desired).