Saturday, January 30, 2010

Lori's Kickin' Queso and Kicking Habits

I made some queso for the party. I haven't had cheese dip in so long. I wanted one that utilized some cheddar that I had in the fridge. I am trying to decrease my grocery bill and utilize whatever I have on hand.

This was my splurge this week. Yes, I have been dieting or rather I have changed my lifestyle. I am eating 1500- 1600 calories a day. I didnt want to say anything on my blog because i said last year and managed to gain all of it back. Classic I know.

You know I am a fan of the Biggest Loser and have been watching it faithfully every season for a couple years now. It inspires me. I do go to the gym often. Really I have all my life. I am just fat anyway. It's funny, there are some things about Biggest Loser that irritate the pee out of me. One, is that fat people are portrayed as garbage/junk food eaters. While I understand that a lot of people in this country eat junk, both big and small, this is not the case for everybody. You see, I was raised in a family that went to the market and bought fresh fruit and vegetables regularly. I picked them and canned them as a child with my family as well.

Even though I was active as a child, I was plump. My Mother never bought junk food when I was growing up. No sugared cereals, no candy, no chips. I ate healthy and despite my activity level I was still chunky. (No, I don't have a thyroid problem, I have been checked ad nauseum and also for diabetes). I will admitedly say that I eat too much of the good stuff and I know that is my problem. You see, what I have found, through much dieting in my life (and exercising) is that the ONLY way I lose weight is to eat 1200 calories a day. And I get real hungry. And after some amount of time I can't stand it anymore and I overeat- because I hate being hungry. There, I said it. Look down on me if you want to. As my friends brother told me years ago, you lack will power and maybe I do, but it is real hard to be hungry. I did quit smoking 12 years ago. That's willpower isn't it?

One of these days... I wish there was a study that looked at what people really consume- calorie wise. Because those charts that tell me what amount of calories I should consume are WAY over. They say I should eat 1800 to lose slowly but steadily. 1800 is maintenance for me. 1600 is slow, as in weeks without loss. Maybe like a pound or two a month. How many calories do you consume on a given day? I am just curious.

Lori's Kickin' Queso
This is party size, so if you are making for a smaller group be sure to scale the recipe accordingly.

4 cups sharp cheddar, grated (if you grate your own, you will avoid nasty chemicals that help to keep the cheese from sticking together.)
1 teaspoon Tabasco or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapenos
1/2 cup roasted red pepper, minced finely
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 small onion, minced fine
2 cups milk
1/2 cup beer
1 teaspoon Lawry's salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Brewer's yeast* (optional)

In a large bowl place grated cheese, pickled jalapenos and red pepper. Saute onions, until soft, cool and add to mixture in bowl.

In a saucepan melt butter, add flour, whisking frequnetly. Let the butter and flour brown to make you cheese dip more tastey. Golden not dark brown. Add the milk, whisking constantly to break up lumps. Stir in salt and garlic powder. Bring to a boil to thicken. Pour directly into cheese mixture in bowl. Stirring constantly to melt the cheese. Stir in beer.

If you find that it will not completely melt the cheese, cover and place int he microwave for a minute or two.

* Bench Notes- I recognize that most people will not have Brewers yeast in their pantry or may not even know what it is. I had the good fortune of finding out about it years ago. You can find it at Natural Food stores. It is in flake form or powder. It tastes a little sharp and nutty. I love to sprinkle it on my popcorn. (Thanks to my cousin Rosan for showing me that little trick). It is great in soups as well. If you are wondering why it is called Brewer's Yeast, it's because its used to make beer. "It also can be grown specifically to make nutritional supplements. Brewer's yeast is a rich source of minerals -- particularly chromium, an essential trace mineral that helps the body maintain normal blood sugar levels; selenium; protein; and the B-complex vitamins... Brewer's yeast has been used for years as a nutritional supplement." (University of Maryland Medical Center).

18 comments:

Katy ~ said...

Gosh, this sounds GOOD!!! I could see me double dipping in no time for this cheesy goodness!!

fimere said...

ça à l'air trop délicieux et savoureux
bonne soirée

vanillasugarblog said...

oh lori and you know what I hate about the biggest loser? it's when they say "you are the heaviest person ever on the biggest loser!" what's up with that? do they not understand that is just so mean! I mean I love the show and what opportunities it gives people, but that jillian and allison should not say words like that. too harsh. it's like if we said to jillian or allison, "you are the ugliest person we've ever seen on the biggest loser!" you know?

Lori said...

Dawn- I know! They say it over and over again! The drama.

Barbara Bakes said...

My kids love queso! This sounds like a great Super Bowl recipe!

grace said...

splurging from time to time is good for the body and soul--i really believe that. kudos to you for quitting the cigarettes all those years ago--that's saying a lot about your fortitude and willpower.
oh, and also--stellar bowl o' cheesy bliss. :)

Temma said...

Oooh, this sounds so yum. I think I'm going to need to find an excuse to make this sometime soon, I love cheesy dips!

Mary Bergfeld said...

My word, but that sounds good. It's a great Super Bowl recipe.

chow and chatter said...

oh great post you know I am not sure what I consume its very hard to lose weight your dip looks fab

Anonymous said...

This is what you call cheesy goodness! This is really delicious! I can't wait to try this goodness!
kitchen tables

kat said...

I don't count calories so I don't know what I eat in a day. I'm struggle to lose some too though. I'm eating smaller portions, only snacking on almonds & fruit & working out 4 - 5 days a week. I'm getting frustrated because I'm not seeing any change...

The Blonde Duck said...

Ben has the same problem you do and it breaks my heart. He has to starve to lose weight, and it can only last so long...He works so hard at it, and the scale barely moves...it's such a struggle.

But sadly, I stil want to eat bowls of this dip!

Anonymous said...

YUM!

Anonymous said...

omg. I so need this dip today. YUM.

Debbie said...

The queso looks so delicious! Lori, I know how you feel from the opposite end of the spectrum. When I was a kid growing up I could not eat enough healthy food and junk food and regardless of how much I ate, I was stick thin. It was frustrating because I couldn't do anything about it and I wanted to gain so badly. Everyone's metabolism is different. Of course now that I don't want to gain weight I do!!! But I guess that is just how life is!

Anonymous said...

Hello ... my friends will love your Queso. I dsay that because I eat very little of the things of that nature that I cook. You see from January of 2008 to January of 2009 I love 94 pounds. I did the Weight Watchers Program and did exercise. I struggled but it became a wys of life for me. I had to change my mind set about eating. Truthfully I was bnot hungry on the program. For me it worked. I hope you find the program that works for you. Love your blog!

LittleRed said...

Now that looks delicious and I will have to bring it to my next pot luck. We LOVE the biggest loser, I find it inspirational yet we have snugged down with a not so healthy snack to watch it now and then. It is really bugging me now how much the trainers try to 'break down' the participants and make them cry...I hardly think they are qualified to be doing that. I would worry less about a number on the scale and be more concerned with what you can do and how you feel. I can assure you that after 12 weeks on the ranch most if not all of those people are in better health than I am. I try to do a lot of yoga, run a few times a week and to have healthy snack food available between meals and to eat reasonable sized meals. I don't know what my calorie count is...but I do keep to around 25-27 weigh watchers points per day. I find if you follow the points recommendation it works without fail. Best of luck being the best you..you can be!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

The queso looks great. I prefer it over salsa.

Since blogging I've gained a ton of weight! I went from being too thin to being chunky. :( My problem is the TIME I eat. Because of the boys' sports schedule we're eating dinner any where from 8 to almost 10 o'clock. Even when we eat between 6 & 7:30 I'm baking and eating one serving too many at 10 or 11 at night. If I could just get back to not eating after 7 or 8 I'd fine though I do need to get back to exercising more. There just isn't enought time for everything. :(
~ingrid