There Goes Dinner: Lodge Skillet Queso
- Erin Bakker
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
From The Kitchen at House of Blueprint
By Erin Bakker
I cook by instinct. The measuring cups are mostly decorative.
That feels like something you should know before we start sharing recipes around here. There will be handfuls. There will be generous shakes. Occasionally, the instructions will be “throw it all in the pan,”
because that is exactly what I did.
Welcome to The Kitchen.
For our first recipe, we’re making sausage queso in a Lodge cast-iron skillet. Plenty of cheese, a little jalapeño, and a very good chance that whatever you had planned for dinner is no longer necessary.
I used sausage, but ground beef or ground venison works, too. There’s room to make this your own.
One thing, though: grate your own cheese. We have to have some standards.
What’s going in
I didn’t measure this batch, so these amounts are a starting point. Taste as you go and leave yourself a little room to improvise.
About a pound of sausage. Ground beef or ground venison is welcome here, too.
A generous pat of butter, roughly 2 tablespoons.
About half a red onion, chopped.
One jalapeño, chopped. Remove the seeds and white ribs for less heat.
A good squeeze of minced garlic, about a teaspoon or two. Yes, mine came from a tube. We’ve already established where I’m spending my effort.
One 12-ounce can of evaporated milk, plus some extra milk for thinning as needed.
About 8 ounces of cream cheese, cut into chunks.
Freshly grated Monterey Jack and sharp cheddar, about 8 ounces of each to start.
Carne asada seasoning, onion powder, and cumin. A few shakes, a little tasting, a few more shakes.
Tortilla chips. More than you think.
For a little something on top: pico de gallo, cilantro, and a jalapeño half. Entirely optional, but we do appreciate a pretty finish.
Let’s make it...
1. Brown the sausage.
Start with a roomy Lodge cast-iron skillet. Brown the sausage, breaking it into crumbles and cooking it through. Drain off any excess grease and set the sausage aside.
Using ground beef or venison? Same idea.
2. Give the vegetables a minute.
Add the butter, red onion, and chopped jalapeño to the skillet over medium heat. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic toward the end and give it another 30 seconds or so.
3. Everybody in.
Turn the heat low. Add the evaporated milk, cream cheese, grated cheeses, cooked sausage, and seasonings to the skillet with the vegetables.
Yes, all at once. Nobody needs to wait their turn.
Start with a few shakes of carne asada seasoning and smaller shakes of onion powder and cumin. Stir gently and regularly until the cheeses melt and everything comes together.
Keep the heat low. We’re melting cheese, not testing the smoke alarm.
4. Taste and tinker.
Grab a chip and see where you stand.
More cumin? Another shake of seasoning? A little extra cheese? You’re in charge.
Too thick? Add a splash of milk, stir, and reassess. Aim for something you can scoop comfortably without sacrificing the chip.
Taste with the chips you’re serving before adding more seasoning. They get a vote, too.
5. There goes dinner.
Add your toppings and serve right from the skillet. Set it on a sturdy, heatproof trivet and remind everyone that the pan and handle are hot.
Put the chips within reach. Pull up a chair.
A serving bowl would just be another dish to wash.
A little permission from The Kitchen...
Your onion doesn’t need to be perfectly diced. Your handful of cheese doesn’t need to match mine. Start with less seasoning, taste as you go, and stop when you’re happy.
Measurements are suggestions. Bringing enough chips is not.
Barkley supervised the entire operation. His contributions were largely administrative.
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