Spicy Queso Taters

Just a simple side dish to start out this new blog.  Mark and I had found a stuffed turkey breast over the weekend at our local grocery store and decided to make it for dinner Tuesday night.  We just steamed some veggies to go with it the first night but I had a few leftovers sitting in the fridge that I wanted to incorporate somehow so that we didn't have to throw them out in the garbage.  As a side note, I love creating dips to bring out when we have company over.  As we progress you will see this come out but the leftovers sitting in the fridge was a Queso dip I made at home because certain family members, myself included, love "liquid cheese" with nachos.  The result of this dish is what Mark and I decided to call Spicy Queso Taters - it reminds me of home fries but instead of onion and peppers and heated up in a frying pan, it became salami bites, cheese and spices baked off in the oven.  Sorry for the lack of photos on this one - the idea to start this came well after dinner was done and cleaned up.  I will take photos the next time I create a recipe :)

Spicy Queso Taters

6                           Mini potatoes, halved & cut into bite size chunks

12 slices                Salami, cut into tiny bite size pieces

                             Salt

                             Pepper

                             Louisiana Hot & Spicy Seasoning

¼ cup                    Homemade Queso Dip (see other recipe)

¼ cup                    Habanero Cheese Blend, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In an oven proof dish, combine all ingredients together.

Toss together to incorporate the Queso dip so that all potatoes are covered evenly.

Cook in oven for 40-45 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through and tender.

Makes 4 servings

Here is the recipe for the Queso Dip as well:

Ingredients:

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups grated Parmesan
2 plum tomatoes, chopped into bite size pieces

1 jalapeno, seeds removed & chopped into bite size pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and mix well to combine.
Spread cheese into an 8x8 baking dish and bake for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Serve with tortilla chips.

Credit where credit is due -   I found this recipe on Pinterest. It is called Creamy White Queso Dip originally adapted from someone called Reckless Abandon. Due to availability of certain items in the grocery store, I did make a few changes.