We assume you all know how to make this. On the other hand, whenever Carla has taken this to a potluck, this disappears immediately, so maybe some people haven’t figured out the ingredient ratios yet. One year, she made this so the kids would eat a little something before heading out for New Year’s Eve festivities; the boys and their friends stood around the crockpot and ate most of it before venturing out. She was starting to worry there wouldn’t be enough left to last until midnight.

• 2 blocks of regular Velveeta
• 2 cans mild Ro-Tel chili and tomato mix
• 2 cans petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• Optional: 1 pound ground chuck

You can make this in a double boiler if you don’t have a crockpot, but these days, you’re more likely to have a crockpot than a double boiler big enough to handle this vat of cheese.

Turn crockpot on to medium heat. Cut Velveeta into 1″-2″ cubes, and toss into the crockpot. Add the Ro-Tel and diced tomatoes, and stir.

Brown the ground chuck in a separate saucepan, crumbling it into pieces small enough to fit on a tortilla chip. Drain as much fat from it as you can; add the meat to the crockpot, and stir again.

Check the queso about once every half hour and stir; it should take about 2-3 hours for all the cheese to melt and all of the ingredients to heat up evenly. If you want to put it on high, check it more frequently, because the cheese will definitely burn on the bottom.

Leftovers, if any, will keep for at least two days in the refrigerator. And it should take at least that long for all of the cheese to soak off the crockpot liner in the sink.