Chorizo Cheese Dip sans a jar of something...

Last week I wanted cheese dip, but I don't trust cheese that stands alone on the shelf of the supermarket for months and months - I needed something that I knew what was in it and could read the ingredient list. So after doing some recipe gleaning, here is what I came up with:

*warning: if you don't like spicy food or haven't been heavily eating spicy food for the last month, you might want to take it a bit easier on the heat*

Chorizo Cheese Dip

1 pound homemade loose chorizo (I used this recipe for the spices and mixed it with 1# Ground Beef because that's what was in my fridge, and let it sit overnight)

1/2 - 2/3 cup Sour Cream

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt

2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup Diced Tomatoes

1/4 cup Jalapeno Nacho Slices

1/2 tsp. Cumin

1/2 tsp. Chili Powder

1/2 tsp. Oregano

Cayenne

Salt/Pepper

Brown the chorizo in a frying pan, drain fat if any.

For Stovetop: Heat cheese, yogurt and sour cream over medium heat until starting to blend together. As you cook this, keep stirring occasionally to keep it melting together and the bottom from burning. If you have an immersion blender, add them as is and blend a bit. If not, chop them up and throw in. Add spices, and chorizo. Let meld together for a bit on the stove, then taste for salt, pepper and heat. Add as you feel needed. Personally, I used a dash of salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper and probably 1/2 tsp. cayenne for a subtle burn.

For Oven Baking: Brown the chorizo, drain fat. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl (or if you're lazy like me, in the baking dish) and transfer to an 8x8 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Check on it occassionally, I don't trust my oven yet.

Alternate Versions:

- Add salsa instead of diced tomatoes

- Reduce cheddar cheese to 2 cups and add 1/2 cup cream cheese, maybe a little less sour cream too.

We ate it with some homemade "fried" pinto beans, mexican rice and lettuce/tomatoes. I like to make "bite sized tortas" and layer a chip with beans, a little of the dip, and then top it off with lettuce and tomatoes.

Oh, and here's my salsa recipe: 

1/4 - 1/3 cup onion (depends on how you want your breath to be later)

2-3 garlic cloves

3/4 t. salt

1/2 t. black pepper

2 1/2 t. cumin

1 1/2 t. chili powder

1/8 - 1/4 t. cayenne pepper

Pinch of dill

1/2 - 3/4 c. nacho slice jalapeno peppers

1/3 c. nacho slice jalapeno pepper juice

3/4 c. moderately packed cilantro leaves (almost 3/4 oz.)

1 - 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

rinse the tomato can with a no more than 1 T. spoon water (or if you want a little more spice, use a bit of the jalapeno juice)

Blend, food process, or immersion blend until the consistency you like. Food processor will warrant a chunkier consistency and depending on the machine size, you might need to split it into batches. 

Hope you enjoy and Happy Friday!