One of my mom’s favorite things to eat is chile con queso.  This dish shouldn’t be confused with the every popular chile con queso dip that you find at many Tex-Mex restaurants. It is not drowned in a sea of  Velveeta by any means but it is delicious in its own right.  Growing up I would spend my summers in Chihuahua, Mexico where I ate more than my share of chile con queso.  On any given day I could go to any of my aunt’s houses and often than none they would all be making this dish.  Seriously, my people love this dish!

Now that my parents live with us (more on that later) I often find myself eating this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. This dish is so versatile because it can be served with different things.  You can have it with eggs for breakfast, you can have it as a burrito for lunch, or you can add steak in it for dinner. I hope you are able to try and enjoy this dish as much as we do.

Chile con Queso (Chihuahua Style)

The main ingredient you need for this dish are Anaheim chiles. Once you wash them put the chiles directly on a cast iron skillet and roast them over medium high heat.  Be careful not to burn them too much otherwise you will find yourself coughing up a lung and rushing towards the fire alarms like we often do.

Once they are completely roasted and the peel begins to loosen take them off the heat.  Caution they will be extremely hot! Please try not to handle them with your bare hands.

Let them cool for a few minutes before peeling them because like I said before they will be extremely hot.  By the way don’t scratch your eyes or any other part of your face because they might be a tad spicy. With your hands careful take off the peel and throw that part away along with the stems.

Once the chiles are completely clean go ahead and give them a rough chop.  We usually leave the seeds in but if you don’t want it too spicy go ahead and take some off.

Oops, I just realized I forgot to tell you to chop your tomato and onion so at this point go ahead and rough chop them now. When you are done with your crazy rough chop add them to the chile.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium high heat.  Once the oil is hot add your mixture of chile, onion, and tomato in the pan. Stir it a few times so it doesn’t stick to the pan.  It shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes for the onions to become translucent.

Pour the water into the frying pan very carefully and let it boil for a tad.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

This is my favorite part because this is where the cheese marries this delicious concoction. You can add whatever type of white  melty cheese you prefer but we usually use either mozzarella,  monterey jack, or asadero. Our favorite of the three being asadero directly from Chihuahua. Let the cheese do its magic and melt into the chile con queso goodness. Serve it with some beans, rice, and tortillas. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 8 to 10 Anaheim Chiles
• 1 tomato
• 1/2 white onion
•  A dash of salt
• A tad of pepper
• 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 cup of white cheese (the kind that melts)

Directions

Roast the Anaheim chiles over medium high heat. Once completely roasted take off the heat and set aside for a few minutes. Peel the skin off the chiles. Pull the stem off and rough chop the chiles. Throw away the stems and peels. Dice your tomato and onion. Mix in tomato and onion with the chile. Heat oil in a frying pan.  Put the chile mixture in the frying pan carefully and heat for about 5 minutes. One the onion is translucent pour water into the chile mixture. Boil for a few minutes. Add the cheese. Let the cheese melt. Serve alongside tortillas, beans, and rice. Enjoy!

Note

This dish can be made into a burrito or served alongside eggs for breakfast.