Queso for Dinner

I made queso or "chile con queso" for dinner tonight.  It's one of my favorite forms of melted cheese and kind of festive/seasonal with the red of tomatoes and the green of peppers.

Chopped garlic, serrano peppers, jalapeno, and onion

A cauldron of queso

Queso in on teacup, refried beans in another... Somehow, I think this is a balanced meal.

Doesn't get much better than chips and dip in front of bad t.v. on a weeknight.

I loosely followed the recipe below:

 Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 small onion, diced
1 Serrano chile, diced
2 jalapeños, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1(4-ounce) can RO*TEL (or any can of diced tomatoes with green chiles)
3 cups shredded cheese, cheddar and Jack varieties recommended
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions

Melt the butter in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Whisk in flour and allow roux to bubble for a few minutes, stirring often, until golden brown.

Add onion, chiles, garlic, and salt to stockpot; stir to coat well. Cook until softened and beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Pour in milk and whisk well to combine. Add RO*TEL.

Once mixture is mixed and warmed through, turn heat to low. Slowly begin stirring in shredded cheese, one small handful at a time. If the cheese sticks to your whisk or spoon and doesn’t seem to be melting evenly, turn up the heat a bit. Make sure each batch is completely melted before adding more.

After all cheese is melted and mixed well, stir in sour cream. Taste, adjust seasoning if desired, and serve hot with chips and lots of napkins.