Swamp spuds & silky queso- two terrific tasty things to try

My original title: Queso and Swamp Potatoes

Grok's version (AI) that it gave me: Swamp spuds and silk queso

I went with Grok's version since it sort of alliterates (that's what I asked it to do; "queso" threw a wrench in that goal...) but then added the "t" words on my own. I don't feel comfortable completely "cheating" LOL. I know that "things" does not truly alliterate and it's a vague word but I went with it since at least it starts with the letter t. 

These items are separate- it's not one recipe for cheesy swamp potatoes (though you certainly could make both and add the queso to the potatoes). Rather, it's for two recipes that I've made recently that are too good to not share (and to have for me to refer to when I want to make them again). 

I'll start with the queso: 

I've tried numerous queso recipes and have made decent tasting queso each time I've made it. The recipes that I've tried are somewhat similar in the following ways: they call for corn starch to help make the sauce more silky and not grainy, they call for evaporated milk, they call for sharp cheddar cheese and they call for chilies. I've followed the recipes to a T except for in one area and I think it made a huge difference. In the past, I've not used sharp cheddar cheese (because I normally don't have it on hand; it's not my favorite cheese) but I did the most recent time because I actually had sharp cheddar. The queso turned out amazing! I did make another change- I didn't use a whole can of chilies, rather I used half of a can. I added the other half of the can into the taco meat that was simmering on the stove. The recipe didn't call for jalapenos but I had so many fresh ones from the garden that I decided to use 1 1/2 jalapenos for some additional heat/freshness.  

Here is the link the recipe that I used but I'm going to write it here based on how I made it. 

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup of finely diced white onion
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 jalapeno peppers without the seeds finely diced
• Half a can of Rotel diced tomatoes with chilies
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoons each of cumin, ancho chili powder, smoked paprika, black pepper
• 12 ounce can full fat evaporated milk
• 8 ounces of grated sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Melt butter over medium heat and then saute the onion, garlic and jalapeno. 
• Add the half can of Rotel
• Sprinkle cornstarch over the vegetables and stir until absorbed. Add the spices and stir.
• Slowly add the evaporated milk, stirring as you go.
• Turn the heat to low and stir in the cheese until it's melted. 

Swamp potatoes

I found this easy and economical (and apparently viral recently on TT?) recipe on one of my favorite food recipe sites, Allrecipes. It got good reviews but I've made a major change. The ingredients are simple ones-  onions, potatoes, sausage, green beans (I subbed a bell pepper), onion soup mix and Cajon spices are all thrown in the crock pot.  That's it. Oh, except one other thing. Butter. The recipe calls for a STICK of butter. Heavens to Betsy- this Yankee is NOT putting a stick of butter in a basic savory dish. (I associate the South with heavy butter use? I am not anti-butter especially in baked goods. However, when the amount of butter that I put in a recipe doesn´t change it substantially except to make it more caloric and full of fat, I almost always use less than the recipe calls for.) In this dish, I used less than half of the butter than the recipe called for. The swamp potatoes turned out really good and we all enjoyed the meal! I love the simple ingredients in this dish- the Cajon seasoning may be the only non typical thing in it (at least for me... I've had the same container of Cajon spice for years. I just don't use it often- but that's about to change :))

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds potatoes cut into pieces (I used small round potatoes and cut them in half)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajon seasoning
• 1 pound smoked sausage (I used turkey kielbasa and used more like 20 ounces for more protein in the meal)
• Up to a stick of butter, cut in pieces. (I planned to use half a stick but even that seemed like too much so I used a little less than half a stick.)

Directions:

• Place onions in the bottom of a crock pot.
• Add potatoes- drizzle with olive oil and season with pepper and Cajun seasoning. 
• Layer the sliced smoked sausage on top of the potatoes. 
• Place pieces of butter over the top.
• Cook on low until potatoes are tender for about six hours. In the last hour or so, add green beans and/or bell pepper to the crock pot.

It doesn´t look pretty but it tastes really good!

Linking up with Joanne for Talking about it Tuesday.