Iowa Recipe Quest-Santa’s Wishlist Edition: Queso-Beer Dip w/ ReUnion Lager

img_4413-1 — I think I’m going to really like Christmas this year….

Tell me again what Santa likes to see after he shimmies down your fireplace? Or in our case, the furnace pipe. Milk and cookies? Perhaps he’d like a little change in the menu from house to house. That’s where the kitchen of The Iowa Gallivant comes in and gives out some handy ideas to make that bearded dude a little more jolly. Get the crock pot out and prepare yourself for the cheesiest holiday season ever!

hyvee — Where else better to play Elf on the Shelf than the Hy-Vee on North Dodge in Iowa City. The official sponsor of Iowa Recipe Quest! (Photo from Hy-Vee North Dodge Facebook page)

Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 2 hours Yield: 10 generous servings

32 oz Velveeta cheese cut into squares
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 10 oz can of Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
1 4 oz can green chilies
1 tablespoon dried onion flake
1/2 tablespoon granulated garlic
1/2 tablespoon ancho chili powder
a couple pinches of salt and black pepper

Place all these ingredients into the crock pot on low heat and cover. While this cooks you’ll want to get the meat out and knock back a can of that ReUnion Lager and think about if you made the right decisions during your Christmas shopping. You bought beer. So the answer is, yes. Moving on….

1 lbs 90-10 ground beef
1 9 oz tube chorizo sausage
1 package of your favorite taco seasoning
1 can ReUnion Lager
Pinch of black pepper
juice from 1 lime
1 lbs thick cut bacon chopped
Tortilla chips…A lot of tortilla chips
Sliced jalapenos (fresh or jarred)

Brown the ground beef and chorizo together in a large saute pan. Add the taco seasoning, lager, and black pepper. Simmer until the beer is cooked down (about 10 minutes) and add it to the crock pot and give it a stir. Fry bacon until it’s crisp and use it to garnish the top of the queso. Because it will be awesome that way and you better have enough leftover for the dip after you’ve been snatching it up while the queso cooks! Top with jalapenos and rip open those bags of tortilla chips. The hardest part will be waiting two hours for it to cook and saving it for Santa. You’ve been good all year…..Take a little for yourself. You would have “sampled” some of the cookie dough anyway.