I Am Trying To Imagine the Horror of Life Without Rotel

Several of you asked, in the comments section below, what Rotel is. 

And I wept for you.

I totally forgot that Rotel is a semi-regional product.  When we lived in Chicago it was nearly impossible to find, a little inconvenience that made Super-Bowl watching considerably less enjoyable.

Rotel, for those of you that don't know, is a canned blend of tomatoes and green chili pepppers.  It is an essential staple in anything Tex-Mex-ish, and it is the STAR of the all-important and aforementioned Super-Bowl snack:  Rotel cheese dip.  For this, you simply melt a "loaf" of Velveeta together with a can of Rotel.  Eat with chips, of course, and good luck using restraint.

(For those of you who disdain the Velveeta, I don't EVEN want to hear it.  Velveeta haters baffle me.  That is some fine stuff.)

Feel free, you Rotel lovers, to expound on your love of (and uses for) Rotel in the comments section. 

Comments

[Elizabeth]

I have uber picky eaters at this time in my life so have not been seeking out Rotel as I once did. BUT, I had to look in my grocers today to see if here in my midwest area - I could find it. I sure DID. Though - it has the requisite tomatoes, this one had cilantro and lime, no chilies! Will try it, but that's different...

[Christy]

I had no idea that Rotel was regional. Sure we could not find it in Norway but I figured it would be all over in the US. My favorite uses of Rotel (besides the aforementined cheese dip) are my mamma's hodge podge stew and my turkey spinach enchilada's. Yummy.

[Nic]

Shannon, are you sitting down....?
Where I live (the Netherlands), we have neither Velveeta nor Rotel. For some reason I still am a very happy person. But that's probably because I've never tasted either... ;)

[Sheryl]

Oh sweet mercy, there are places on this earth where Rotel and Velveeta do not exist?? May the good Lord never ask me to move to such a place.

I currently have TWELVE cans of Rotel on my pantry shelves ...

[Everyday Mommy]

Gee...I'm thinkin' you need a Rotel Themed WFMW! Everyone must post a Rotel recipe.

[Say]

I always heard people talk about Rotel but could never find it in the store. Oodles of other similar options, but no Rotel. And then, one day - BOOM - there it was. I tried it, but actually prefer the other brands I'm accustomed to.

[Margaret]

add sausage to it!! MMMMM

[Bailey's Leaf]

I just learned something. Had no idea what Rotel was. We don't have that stuff here in Ohio. We do have Velveeta, though. I used to like it until I ate an entire loaf in a two day span. My body was begging for digestive mercy. Velveeta hasn't crossed my lips since!

[Amy B.]

hmmm...I live in Michigan we have "Rotel" only it is called, "Tomatoes and Green Chilies" instead.

[Scott]

Just a quick shout-out to say thanks for sticking up for Velveeta.
I don't know why some people are Veeta-Hate-uz.
Bury me with a loaf.

[Karen Putz]

Oh gosh, all this time I've been making that dip with mere salsa!

[Jennifer]

You may have already gotten this recipe, there were too many comments to read them all! Our family uses Rotel in what we call 2x2 soup: brown 2 lbs. hamburger meat, open 2 cans Rotel, 2 cans minestrone soup, and 2 cans of kidney beans and dump in a big pot. Stir and heat. Enjoy!

[town girl]

Ro-tel is easy to find in Chicago proper now. I'm not sure what happened distribution-wise, but one day I looked up and there it was in every Jewel and Dominick's. I took to making Ro-tel dip for parties. People would at first sneer at the mention of the Velveeta. And then they'd eat the whole crockpot full.

It was nice to Chicago and Ro-tel together in one post. Thanks for helping me feel a little less homesick :)

[Karen Woodward]

Even sadder is the people who know what Rotel is but live where they can't get it. I spent 7 years in Romania. No Rotel. No Velveeta cheese.

mercy, im old enough to have an original recipe for that wonderful queso dip...it took a long time in prep but wowzers was it worth it. Now everyone just opens a can of rotel and dumps a block of velveta in the microwave. While I love rotel, use it in everything, Never been a big fan of velveeta until I found the pepper jack variety...now talk about a jacked up broccoli cheese casserole...try unsing a 1/2 block of ppr jack in your next casserole dish...talk about good eatin....
btw..the orig queso dip was to dice an onion very small, dice bell peppers very small, brown with hamburger meat mixed with fresh ground sausage, add chopped garlic, cook til meat done, veggies tender, drain, add to stock pot and add shredded cheddar, small can of green chilies or jalapenos...tasters choice...heat over low heat til blended, pour into chaffin dish or crock pot to serve. Like I said, quiet a bit of work but well worth it. wowwhee.....

[Laura Holden]

3 Can Soup is a staple in our house for those nights when you need food FAST!

1 can Rotel
1 can black beans
1 can corn

Mix and heat in a saucepan. Feeds 2 adults and 3 kids(9, 7, and 2) with a little bit left over. I serve this with cheese quesadillas. The great thing about the leftovers is that you can drain the liquid and wrap the remainder in a tortilla with a little cheese and salsa for a quick lunch the next day.

Rotel is the best!!! I love reading everyone's recipes!

[Marie]

OMG I came on here to pull up the recipe I wanted to make, and the Linky is gone! What will I make for dinner???