This is another one of those "about as easy as it can be" recipes that is always a crowd-pleaser. Brad told me on Saturday night that he invited 13 people (including children) over on Sunday for a pre-game barbeque. This was the first thing I thought of making! As a bonus, the 3 basic ingredients are items that you can usually get super-cheap:
Ingredients:
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1 can chili
1 - 1 ½ cups Mexican-Style Cheese (or Cheddar-Jack blend, or Taco cheese)
Optionals: diced Jalepenos, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes
Directions
Spread the cream cheese in the bottom of a pie plate.
Top with the chili
If using any of the "optionals", layer them on
Top with the cheese
Bake at 400 until the cheese melts
Serve with tortilla chips (Tostitos Gold are best, since they are so strong that they allow you to "cut through" the cheese)
The picture shows them being served with handmade tortilla chips, which is what I usually serve it with when I have more than 10 minutes advance notice. Those are made simply by cutting corn tortillas in to wedges and frying them in a little oil then tossing them with finely ground sea salt while still hot. Easy-Peasy!
Hint: if you don't want to turn on your oven, get the chili with no beans and you can make this in the microwave (the beans will pop and explode in the microwave)