Chili Cheese Dip

This has always been a big hit at both parties or small get-togethers.  We have even been known to feed the kids an early dinner and steal a late night at-home movie date, with this yummy dish instead of popcorn or chips!

And it's easy-peasy, too!  And although it's more of a winter dish, I thought I'd share it now.  Partly because I love it but mostly because it's the only recipe I have photographed right now... :)

A friend of mine made this once and when pressed, she confessed that she found it on the inside of the Stagg chili can!  I changed it slightly, but still will give most of the credit to the makers of the best canned chili around!

You can also use homemade chili for this, but I think that will be the next recipe I feature....

To make it, you will need:

Stagg Chili (I used Classic, but have been known to kick things up with Silverado Beef, and even the Dynamite Hot on accident!); cream cheese; shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

If you don't have Monterey Jack cheese on hand, you can substitute mozzarella or brick, but I'm warning you... it won't be the same.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Soften the cream cheese by warming it in the microwave for about 1 minute (or until it starts popping and threatens to leave an incredible mess).  I leave it in the foil wrapper AND the box to avoid this.

Dump the cream cheese into an 8x8 glass or metal pan and spread evenly on bottom.

The original recipe calls for salsa to be spread on the cream cheese, but since everyone else in my family seems to have an aversion to salsa, I omitted it.

Next, open the can of chili and dump onto the cream cheese.  My suggestion would be to dump it in the middle of your pan, because for some reason, the beans are ALWAYS at the bottom.  This allows you to spread them out over the entire dish.

At this point, you could add finely diced jalapeno or even habanero peppers to spice it up, if you're not a coward when it comes to all things spicy.

Like me.

Add the grated cheese on top of the chili.  I usually don't measure - must be the Italian thing - but I just add enough to lightly cover the chili, for the most part.  Any less and it's just chili and cheese... and any more, and the entire cheese layer will just lift right off after cooling for 5 minutes or so.

Pop this into your pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until bubbly around the edges.  Remove from oven and let stand for a few minutes to avoid serious tongue-burning incidents...

Now there's a variety of ways to serve this.  You can add baguette slices to the side, so your guests (or you) can spoon the chili mixture over top.  Or you can serve with Tostito Scoops, which are perfect little bowls to scoop up that chili goodness.

My favourite, though, is to serve with a spoon ( to avoid double dipping offenders) and a bowl of Fritos Scoops!  Oh, what a little bowl of Heaven...