Everything Con Queso!
I’ll admit it: I have an unhealthy obsession with queso. At any get-together where it’s a part of the spread, don’t expect me to be social. Instead I’ll be hovering over the bowl like a madman, wild-eyed and orange-faced. But can you really blame me? If you think about it, queso is kind of the perfect food. It certainly has all the basic tenets: warmth, cheesiness, spiciness—what else do you need in life? Given the opportunity, I will put that golden gooey deliciousness on everything. In fact, I'll even put queso on my queso. Which is just more queso, but that’s the point.
When I first tried the Savory Spice Test Kitchen’s own blend of Tex-Mex Queso and Dip, I knew they had stumbled upon something incredible. Creamy cheese enhanced with tomato powder, bell peppers, and paprika—it didn’t just make tortilla chips better, it made everything better. I’m not just talking about your standard queso pairings like potatoes or ground beef; I’m talking about everything. Oh, the queso-bilities. I was excited to see what new dishes we could concoct. Here are a few:
Quesos Benedictos
If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and eggs Benedict is obviously the best breakfast, then I could think of no better dish to experiment on. I replaced the Hollandaise sauce with queso, garnished with cilantro and jalapeño slices, and added a side of avocado seasoned with Salt & Pepper Tableside Seasoning. The result? Let’s just say there’s no going back. If you love eggs Benedict—and you do—you’re going to want to try this delicious Southwestern-style variant. The mild heat from the queso plus the heat from the jalapeños gave the poached eggs a nice kick. Also, queso for breakfast is by far the best way to start your day.
Mac ‘n Queso
Okay, I think we all know about the magic of pasta. It’s what you make after a long day at work, when you’re hangry and tired—but also what you choose to make on a Saturday when the world is your oyster. It has that magical property of being fast, easy, and sooooo satisfyingly delicious. Homemade mac & cheese though? Not so much. If you have a stovetop mac recipe memorized (not the one on the box), props to you. Here’s the secret though: you can make this queso in the time it takes to boil the macaroni pasta. Mix and you’re done, son. Top with sliced jalapeños or even some fresh pico if you’re feeling extra. Can that blue box give you the same satisfaction as a made-from-scratch mac with a cheesy Tex-Mex twist? I didn’t think so.
Chili Queso Tots
After making this dish, I am firmly of the opinion that queso and chili truly belong together. Like chips and salsa, chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy… queso and chili is a thing. Layered on top of hot, crispy tots and topped with all your favorite fixins’, this is a crowd pleaser I would absolutely make again. The only thing I would do differently next time is double the recipe! For the chili, I kept it super simple so the queso could really shine. I just browned a pound of ground beef and threw together diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, black beans, and a generous amount of our Mild Chili Powder and Onion & Garlic Tableside Sprinkle for 18 minutes in my Instant Pot. I would absolutely call this a win.
Philly Queso Steak
They say if you’re more than an hour away from South Philly you can’t make an authentic Philadelphia cheese steak sandwich. If that’s you then you should probably stop reading this and go ring the Liberty Bell while I tell everyone else about this bomb sandwich I made. Shaved steak (like, really thin). Onions. Optional mushrooms. Not optional bell peppers. Hoagie bun. Queso. Grill the fillings, toast the buttered bun, ladle with queso, and CONSUME. Who cares if it’s authentic when you have queso running down your chin and pure, uninhibited joy in your heart?
There you go, the results of these queso experiments speak for themselves. They support my hypothesis that you can put this [expletive deleted] on literally everything. Which I *obviously* plan on doing because we’ve come up with so many more ideas to transform standard dishes into spankin’ new flavor experiences! Such as:
- Enchiladas (Quesoladas)
- Pizza (Quizza)
- Baked potatoes (Quesotatoes)
- Cheeseburgers (Quesoburgers)
- Cheese pretzels (Quetzels)
- Chili dogs (Quesili dogs)
- Grilled cheese sandwiches (...Grilled queso?)
- Jalapeño poppers (my personal favorite: Quesopeño poppers)
On a totally related note, I have decided to go on an all queso diet. Reach out to us on Facebook or Instagram and let us know what dishes you’ve tried with our queso, and don’t forget to post photos!
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