My perfect Super Bowl menu includes many things, among them Green Chili Taco Cups, right around a million hot wings, and anywhere from four to 31 dips. If there isn’t a Crock Pot with a trough of Green Chili Chorizo Queso, is it even the Super Bowl?
Give me Green Chilis and dips or give me death. I also want chips, veggies, (gluten-free) crackers, and crostini as far as the eye can see.
My favorite measure of happiness is how sloppy and saucy and drippy and messy my eaters are mixed with all their “Mmmms” and “Yummms.”
Don’t think for a second that I didn’t include my favorite football food in Feed These People. (Do not sleep on my Diner Cheeseburger Sliders with Hot Trash Sauce, either.) But, lucky for you, I have my Taco Cups and Queso recipes right here for the taking, too.
Green Chili Taco Cups
Everyone—including you—will love these green chile taco cups. They are adorable. They are delicious. They are basically tacos, so let’s not overreact (everyone knows tacos are a “No Damns” dinner choice), but the presentation is super-fun. Serve these with Green Chile Chorizo Queso (below), and you’ve created a winning football spread. These are also ready in 30 minutes, and the hardest step is browning ground beef. Talk about a touchdown.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 (1-ounce) packet taco seasoning (do I buy the “hot” version? You know I do.)
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained (or just dice up 2 tomatoes if you have them)
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
- 1 (16-ounce) package square wonton wrappers, thawed if frozen
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
- Oil, for brushing
- Nonstick cooking spray
- FOR SERVING: Shredded iceberg lettuce, sour cream, salsa, diced scallions or chopped cilantro (or both!)
Process
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Fire up a skillet over medium heat. Brown the ground beef until it is no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes, then drain off any fat. Back on the burner, add the taco seasoning, tomatoes, and green chiles to the beef and stir until combined. Add a little bit of water and stir until it all comes together. Take the pan off the heat.
Now, wonton wrappers + muffin tins are a revelation. You’re basically making tiny individual taco bowls, and if that isn’t the cutest thing you’ve ever heard of, I must be explaining cuteness wrong. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray and line each cup with one wonton wrapper. Just press it in there and let the edges fold up the sides. Throw these in the oven as is for 5 minutes to set them, then let cool for a couple of minutes.
Fill each wonton cup with 1 tablespoon of the meat, followed by a sprinkling of cheese. Then layer each cup with one more wonton wrapper and press down, letting the edges fold over the sides. Add another tablespoon of meat and top with cheese. Brush the edges of the wonton wrapper with a little oil. A double taco cup! The cuteness hurts my eyes!
Pop these babies into the oven for about 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the edges of the wonton wrappers are browned and crunchy. Then the trick is this: Let them cool in the muffin tin for at least 5 to 10 minutes before removing them from the pan.
Set up your taco cup bar: shredded iceberg, sour cream, salsa, and scallions or cilantro. Everyone gets their own little baby taco cup(s), and you are a hero.
Green ChilI CHORIZO Queso
In Kansas, where I grew up, “queso” meant Velveeta and a can of Ro-Tel. And that was the end of the tale. But then I moved to Texas in 1998, and I got converted and saved. Praise the Spirit for the Lone Star State when it comes to melted cheese snacks. Break out the tambourines! This is a mash-up of the two best quesos in Austin: Torchy’s and the Bob Armstrong dip at Matt’s El Rancho. No additional commentary needed. If you know, you know.
Also, by the way, this makes a huge batch. These are party quantities, because I’m assuming you’re making this for Super Bowl Sunday. Cut it in half if you’re planning to eat something other than cheese dip or feeding fewer than the million people who live in my house.
But all leftover queso tells me is that I have something awesome to spoon over my eggs the next morning. A word on chorizo: When readers ask me what chorizo is, I have to go into my prayer closet, because these poor souls are living in a state of deprivation. In short, chorizo is life. In long, chorizo is spiced ground pork, quite possibly the perfect food. Please do not buy the chorizo made from earlobes and assholes that’s sold in a tube. It will ruin your day. If you can’t get fresh ground chorizo or high-quality chorizo, just use ground hot Italian sausage.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chorizo (or ground hot Italian sausage)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
- 4 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (FINE, I USE RO-TEL)
- 2 (7-ounce) cans mild green chiles
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 1 (26-ounce) block processed cheese, cubed (FINE, I USE VELVEETA)
- 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 to 2 cups water
Process
Brown the chorizo in a skillet over medium heat, 6 to 8 minutes, drain in a colander, and set aside (chorizo renders a lot of fat, and no one wants greasy queso). In the same skillet, combine your olive oil, onion, and jalapeños and sauté for 6 to 7 minutes, until the veggies start to brown. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes more.
I cook queso in my Crockpot like our ancestors intended, because it stays nice and warm and I can eat it for the next 6 hours. Combine the sautéed veggies and browned chorizo in your Crockpot, then add everything else on the list. How much water you add is up to you; it depends on however thick or not-quite-as-thick you want this queso to be.
Cover the Crockpot and set it on High to speed up the melty process. As the cheese starts to melt, stir to combine. When you have it like you like it, turn your heat to Low and leave this on your counter aaaaaaaaaaall day.
We like to drizzle a little Cholula on top because we play for keeps in Texas. I would serve this to Jesus if he came over for Super Bowl Sunday. This is the holy grail of queso.