Queso Fundido

Doesn’t Queso Fundido just sound good? I don’t know what ‘fundido’ means (and I could probably look it up), but I like to think that it means ‘fun.’  Fun Cheese. That’s exactly what this is. And so so easy! 

Every time we are in my husband’s home town, we go to this Mexican restaurant call Tia Maria’s (I actually think a man named Jose took over so it’s now Tia Jose’s. Which seems conflicting because I do know that ‘Tia’ means ‘aunt’). Anyway. He orders queso fundido there, and always shocks me by how much of it he eats. I actually get a bit of a stomach ache watching it, but am also happy about his level of excitement.  So I decided to make some as an appetizer for the super bowl, and guess what? Making a big skillet of melted cheese is super easy. And super good (not quite as shocking).

Recipe

• 1/3 lb breakfast sausage
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 jalapeno, seeded
• 8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, freshly shredded
• 8 oz Sharp Cheddar, freshly shredded
• 2 tablespoons flour or corn flour
• Chili powder
• Diced tomato
• Flour or corn tortillas

Preheat the oven to 400.  Start by browning the sausage in a large cast iron skillet. Add the diced onion about half way through and continue to cook until the onions are well done. Drain any excess fat from the skillet, and move all the sausage to the middle of the pan (I did this because then people can choose how much sausage they want, instead of it all being mixed in).  Turn off the heat.  In a separate skillet, sauté the jalapeno in a bit of olive oil – just a few minutes to brown and release some of the heat. Set aside.

In two separate bowls, mix the cheeses each with 1 tablespoon of flour (I used corn flour, which I love).  Alternating cheeses, sprinkle half of it around the sausage.  Sprinkle a couple pinches of chili powder on the first layer, then top with remaining cheese. Sprinkle a pinch more chili powder on top (this added great flavor).  Place the skillet in the oven, being sure not to overcook.  You want it to be just melty enough but not so melty it gets hardened. About 6 minutes was perfect for me. Remove skillet from the oven, top with diced tomatoes and jalapenos, and serve with tortillas. Serve IMMEDIATELY – this is not a make ahead item!