Pancho's Cheese Dip

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 30
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon accent seasoning
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes
• 5 lbs process american cheese (velveeta)
• pickled jalapeno pepper, to taste

Recipe

• 1 measure first 4 ingredients into a small bowl, stirring well to mix.
• 2 (note: as tastes have changed over the years, i have gradually decreased the accent slightly, measuring a scant tablespoon so it won't be too salty.) pour 1 can of tomatoes, including juice, into the bowl of a food processor.
• 3 add 2 tablespoons of spice mixture and 5- 6 slices of pickled jalapenos.
• 4 pulse on and off briefly several times until ingredients are well-mixed and tomatoes are broken into small pieces but still retain some texture.
• 5 (it should look like a thick salsa.) pour tomato mixture into a medium saucepan.
• 6 repeat with remaining can of tomatoes, remaining spices, and additional slices of jalapenos, adding mixture to the saucepan after processing.
• 7 if your food processor can handle it, grate cheese and then put in a large pot or dutch oven; if not, chop cheese coarsely by hand.
• 8 (a cuisinart makes it easier, but it doesn't affect the final outcome.) cook tomato mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently; bring just to the boiling point, but do not allow to boil!
• 9 the instant the first bubble breaks the surface, remove from heat and pour over cheese.
• 10 stir well, until cheese seems to have melted as much as it's going to (which won't be much-- it will still be extremely lumpy).
• 11 using a ladle (or a coffee mug), pour approximately 3 cups of the mixture into the food processor bowl.
• 12 process approximately 20-30 seconds, until mixture is smooth.
• 13 remove lid from processor bowl and taste for'heat' and consistency.
• 14 if it is not as hot as you'd like, add a few more jalapeno slices.
• 15 it will be waaaay too thick, so add water (several tablespoons at a time), processing briefly after each addition, until it is the proper consistency.
• 16 each batch will require a different amount of water, depending on the ratio of cheese to tomato sauce, but you'll quickly get the hang of about how much to add.
• 17 if you accidentally get one batch too thin, you can easily compensate by making the next one extra-thick and stirring them together.
• 18 although this makes a huge amount, it will disappear more quickly than you ever thought possible, so stock up on lots of chips!
• 19 leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for days on end.