Pancho's Cheese Dip

For many, many years, there was only one Mexican restaurant in town. For 'starters', they placed a big bowl of tostados on the table, along with a very commonplace tomato salsa -- and an absolutely fabulous cheese dip. Everybody wanted the recipe, but it was a closely-guarded secret. After the Tex-Mex craze hit and this restaurant started marketing a plastic version of their wonderful dip, I obtained the original recipe by nefarious means. :) Please do not be put off by the fact that it's based on Velveeta. This is 'cheese food' raised to a new level. Addictive! May I add that it is (quite literally) impossible for a cheese dish with such strong savory seasonings to have a 'sweet' undertone. And it's so thick you won't believe. When you rate 7 recipes and give 6 of them 1*, one wonders....

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 30

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon garlic powder
• 1  tablespoon black pepper
• 1  tablespoon Accent seasoning
• 1  tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes
• 5  lbs process American cheese (Velveeta)
•  pickled jalapeno pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Measure first 4 ingredients into a small bowl, stirring well to mix.
2. (Note: As tastes have changed over the years, I have gradually decreased the Accent slightly, measuring a scant tablespoon so it won't be too salty.) Pour 1 can of tomatoes, including juice, into the bowl of a food processor.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of spice mixture and 5- 6 slices of pickled jalapenos.
4. Pulse on and off briefly several times until ingredients are well-mixed and tomatoes are broken into small pieces but still retain some texture.
5. (It should look like a thick salsa.) Pour tomato mixture into a medium saucepan.
6. Repeat with remaining can of tomatoes, remaining spices, and additional slices of jalapenos, adding mixture to the saucepan after processing.
7. If your food processor can handle it, grate cheese and then put in a large pot or Dutch oven; if not, chop cheese coarsely by hand.
8. (A Cuisinart makes it easier, but it doesn't affect the final outcome.) Cook tomato mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently; bring just to the boiling point, BUT DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL!
9. The instant the first bubble breaks the surface, remove from heat and pour over cheese.
10. Stir well, until cheese seems to have melted as much as it's going to (which won't be much-- it will still be extremely lumpy).
11. Using a ladle (or a coffee mug), pour approximately 3 cups of the mixture into the food processor bowl.
12. Process approximately 20-30 seconds, until mixture is smooth.
13. Remove lid from processor bowl and taste for'heat' and consistency.
14. If it is not as hot as you'd like, add a few more jalapeno slices.
15. It will be waaaay too thick, so add water (several tablespoons at a time), processing briefly after each addition, until it is the proper consistency.
16. Each batch will require a different amount of water, depending on the ratio of cheese to tomato sauce, but you'll quickly get the hang of about how much to add.
17. If you accidentally get one batch too thin, you can easily compensate by making the next one extra-thick and stirring them together.
18. Although this makes a huge amount, it will disappear more quickly than you ever thought possible, so stock up on lots of chips!
19. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for days on end.