Cousin D's Slow Cooker Beefy Cheese Dip

This is a recipe I learned from my Cousin D (the guy in the tie-dye)during our family reunion in Montana. My husband (he's the one in the blue shirt) and I took a bite and said this would be great to have while watching football games in the fall. During the reunion in August, we were hanging out at “The Ranch,” and D had cooked up this fantastic dip.

While sitting out on the deck, enjoying views of wheat and barley fields with mountains in the distant, he recited the ingredients for the dip: ground beef, cream cheese, queso dip, and sour cream. And don’t forget to throw in some taco seasoning.

Pretty simple, pretty good, and pretty bad for waistlines and hearts. But hey, you can’t always walk the straight and narrow path by eating rabbit food all the time. 

That being said, I’m not going to be held liable for any medical bills related to heart disease.  In the words of my couz, “It ain’t diet food.”

So, if you’re ready to blow your diet, get the ingredients together and pull out your slow cooker. I made this the other night so we’d have something to munch on while watching football (we had a couple of people over to help us eat it). My guess is that it would safely feed 6-8 people.

Brown the ground beef in a skillet and season with taco seasoning. Put the ground beef in the crock pot, then add a block of cream cheese, a cup of sour cream, and two jars of queso dip (I used Tostito’s Monterrey Jack Queso dip. Don’t worry, according to the website you don’t have to feel guilty about eating it because it’s gluten, pork, soy and onion free and has NO trans fat. Of course, they fail to advertise there’s still 35 grams of fat in each jar…)

But, we’re not here to think about fat grams-we’re here to make some good game-watching food. Turn your slow cooker to low, cover, and cook for a couple of hours and stir it occasionally. When all the cheese/cream products have achieved a smooth, almost soupy consistency, you’re ready to serve. Use a ladle to transfer the dip to a bowl. Then, put some Fritos corn chip scoops on the top and use those to eat the dip. It’s a complete meal unto itself: dairy, meat, carbs, and veggies (yes, veggies, there’s some pieces of pepper in the queso dip--I'm trying to help you rationalize eating it so work with me here). It’s all you need to sustain yourself through a day and/or evening of football watching.

This dish was a huge hit. The guys all went back for seconds, and as I sat in the bedroom typing this post, I kept hearing their satisfied belches from the living room. Unfortunately, I don't have any good photos of the dip-- while tasty, it's kind of a big soupy cheesy mess.

Cousin D's Beefy Cheese Dip
1 8-ounce block of cream cheese
1 cup of sour cream
2 jars of Tostitos Queso Dip
1 lb. of ground beef
1 package of taco seasoning
Fritos corn chips for dipping

Brown the meat in a skillet over medium heat, add the taco seasoning. Transfer the beef to a slow cooker and add the cream cheese, sour cream, and queso dip. Cook on low, stirring occasionally, until everything has melted together. Serve the dip in bowls with the Fritos on top.