Seriously Good but Seriously Ugly Chip Dip

Seriously Good but Seriously Ugly Chip Dip

 Yes, you read that right. This chip dip, at least in the pot, it seriously ugly and nasty looking but is some of the best dip for tortilla chips of any kind. It gives weight to the saying "Don't knock it til ya try it." But to give it credit, this has nothing but packaged foods, and if you know my severe preference for fresh ingredients, you know this is a big deal.
 This is one of the easiest recipes you will ever use and can be put in a slow cooker to be served at a party, or tastes fine cold too, though I prefer it warm. For this recipe you will need:

1 Package of Cream Cheese
1 Bottle of Salsa
1 Can of Refried Beans
1 Can of Chili
1 Tub of Sour Cream
1 Package shredded cheese

I am serious when I say that this recipe is one of the simplest you will ever use, it is in its most basic form, to take all of the ingredients listed above and mix them all together while heating it up. Yup, that's it. I will for your sake though, provide the order I make it to make it well mixed. 

The first thing I put in the pot is the Cream cheese. Brand doesn't really matter, but as my husband has told me, I tend to be a snob about certain things, and I like Philidelphia for any recipe I use cream cheese. I use the Warm setting on my stove, but it tends to run hotter than most, so Low would be preferable. I suggest not going over Low since, if you burn the bottom of this recipe you will have to start all over, there is no fix. If you cut the cream cheese up into squares, it will melt faster.

 Next you will add the salsa. For some reason, adding the salsa to the cream cheese helps the cream cheese break up completely so you don't have any chunks of cream cheese in your dip. This is the only time I use a whisk in this recipe, but it is not necessary.

 After the cream cheese is melted and mixed in with the salsa completely, its time to add in the refried beans. Like the picture? Yeah, it seriously reminds me of a can of dog food. My secret for always getting it out in one easy piece? Stick a butter knife in and run it around the sides of the can. It makes it come out so much easier.

 The refried beans are kind of like the cream cheese. Though not as difficult, they will not mix completely into the dip until heated up. Next comes the can of Chili. Yet again, it doesn't really matter what kind you use, I have even used home made chili before, but my personal preference is Nally's Cheesy Chili, it just seems to work best. The chili is really easy to mix in, and after it is mixed in, you will want to leave it for a minute or two so the mixture can heat up. This will make the last two steps easier.

Once the mixture is heated up to luke warm, not boiling, add in the sour cream. If the mix is warm, the sour cream will stir in very easily.

Now that the sour cream is in, let it heat up again. This should be really quick this time, so don't go chatting on the phone. Now you add in your shredded cheese. As with everything else in this recipe, brand doesn't matter, but I like Colby Jack or Cheddar Jack the best for this. Mix it up until all of the cheese is mixed in and heat it up again. 

Once the cheese is melted completely, it is officially finished! Go on! Grab your tortilla chip and grab a big bite! Oh, worth it wasn't it? Yeah that's what my thought was too. Remember to refrigerate the leftovers. 

Clean up? Oh this is a breeze. Because of the cheese and the beans, when the dip dries to the dishes, it scrapes right off. So if you find that you haven't cleaned your dishes and it is caked on, never fear! It is yet again seriously simple to clean up! Enjoy and remember to follow the blog for more recipes!