A Cheese Dip Makeover

For the past couple of weeks, I've been seeing the grocery ads featuring typical Super Bowl party foods. One of my favorites among those is Velveeta and Rotel dip with chips. However, I'm trying to eat less processed food (as regular readers will know), and I also recently read that Velveeta is actually less than 50 percent cheese — to be called "cheese food," something must be 51 percent cheese, but things called "cheese product" are below the half mark. So, I decided to make my own cheese sauce, especially after watching Rachael Ray make this one on her show last Monday. I adhered mostly to this recipe, but also added onion and a can of Rotel, sort of like in this Emeril recipe.

But, I'm not going to a Super Bowl party, nor do I plan on watching the game later this evening. So, I decided to use the cheese in a main dish. I bought corn tortillas and cooked up some pinto beans (which I sadly neglected to salt) and then layered all three ingredients for a sort-of Mexican lasagna dish. Of course, this will still be rather fatty, but I think it might be a bit healthier; and, at least it's definitely all-natural.