“Queso” quite literally means cheese and who doesn’t love cheese?! There are so many different variations of this magnificent Mexican cheese dip, however, no matter which flavor profile you decide to go with there is definitely a very particular way of preparing it. Most people think that you have to add half and half or heavy cream into a recipe to create a thick cheese sauce, but that is simply not the case for acquiring an authentic queso. Evaporated milk is the preferred liquid to use to thin the cheese out because it contains less moisture, therefore, no separation will occur. I think a cheese dip of any kind is ideal for whatever event you are celebrating, but a queso dip is superior because it is insanely flavorful, fresh, and full of that sharp cheese flavor that coats a chip just perfectly. Now, I’m sure you Diamonds at least had queso once in your life being that it’s a really popular appetizer at so many different restaurant in the states, but I can assure you, you’ve never enjoyed a queso experience entirely like mine. I took two wonderful party foods and incorporated them together to make one brilliant chip and cheese concoction.

You just have to make this one Diamonds!

Prepare all of your ingredients before you start making that queso!

• One red bell pepper, small diced.
• One green bell pepper, small diced.
• One red onion, small diced.
• Two Roma tomatoes, de-seeded and small diced.
• One clove of garlic, minced.
• A handful of cilantro, chopped.
• 1/2 lb. of colby jack cheese, cubed.
• 3/4 lb. of cooper sharp cheese, cubed.
• Open a can of evaporated milk.

You can’t have sausage and pepper queso without the sausage.

• Fry up one pound of fresh sausage for five-seven minutes in a large sauce pan over medium high heat.

• Toss in all of the produce that we diced up earlier except the tomatoes and cilantro, along with a pad of butter. Saute for another 5 minutes.
• Season with seasoned salt, freshly cracked black pepper, cumin, oregano, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
• Then, you can add your tomatoes. Just be sure to leave a few pieces for garnishing the top with before serving.

• Mix everything together and pour in 3/4 cup of evaporated milk.
• You may add more or less milk depending on the consistency you love your queso. I do prefer mine to be thicker so that it doesn’t run off the chip at all when you’re dipping.

• On low heat, slowly incorporate all of the cubed cheese.

• Sprinkle in most of the chopped cilantro and save a little for garnishing, of course.
• Shake in a couple dashes of paprika for color and a bit of a smokey flavor.

Serve the queso in a skillet or decorative bowl and garnish with the chopped tomatoes and cilantro that we put aside earlier.

Queso is good for so many things! We can be celebrating a birthday, a graduation, a job promotion, or we can honestly just be eating chips and cheese on a Tuesday because it’s down right delicious! The one way to live a joyful life is to enjoy every single bite of food you take. Am I right? You can serve this queso with your favorite store bought tortilla chips or you can take a step up and fry a batch of your own! Either way, you’re going to be in cheese filled heaven. Since this is loaded with sausage and peppers another amazing way to enjoy this dip would be to serve it along side some ripped up rolls or a sliced baguette. However, if you are doing the whole low carb lifestyle, some nice pieces of fresh bell peppers would be great to pair along side instead. They go with the theme and the flavor and textural combinations of crunchy, cold, and cheesy, and of course, hot would be immaculate. I know the Super Bowl has passed and March madness has come to a holt as well, but if you make this all throughout baseball season for a family of sports enthusiasts your loved ones will cherish the crap out of you!

xoxo