A Queso Vessel

Many people expected me to host an Academy Awards party last night. It's something I've always wanted to do, but with a rather chaotic work schedule every February and March, it'd be a hard task to pull off. However, it's definitely on my Bucket List right below "be a seat filler at the Oscars."

Anyway, Academy Awards Sunday is usually an afternoon and evening spent with Mr. Cush where he mocks me for caring what the A-listers are wearing. (Actually, he spent yesterday afternoon watching Dallas Buyers Club so he could understand all of the Matthew McConaughey/Jared Leto hype. I rented it on iTunes over the weekend and watched it on a work trip Friday night - it's terrific.)

Since the Academy Awards are a bigger deal to me than 10 Super Bowls combined, I usually try a new snack recipe to have a little something to munch on during the big show. I stumbled upon a Queso Blanco recipe via Pinterest last week and gave it a try yesterday ... like Dallas Buyers Club, it didn't disappoint!

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lbs. white American cheese (block cheese cut into 1-inch cubes)
1 4 oz. can diced green chili peppers
2 jalapeno peppers (chopped)
2/3 cup half and half
1/2 cup cold water

Directions:
Toss all ingredients into a microwaveable-safe bowl. Microwave on high for five minutes, stopping to stir after every minute.

Queso Blanco

While I made the queso, Mr. Cush was busy dicing up an avocado to add to the finished product (you know, since we add avocado to everything around here). Out of nowhere, a moment of genius struck ...

QUESO BOAT!!!

BAM! That happened.

Since I'm not the most creative person in the kitchen, I'm pretty proud of this above concoction. Is it totally lame? Probably. But for one singular moment yesterday, I felt like a gold statue winner.

So how did I spend the evening? Mostly with this view pictured below ...

My judgy best friend, Riley.