El Paso, Texas (KFOX14) \u2014 Okay, this was fun. We brought Chef Diego Lucero of Texas Culinary Institute into the Daytime kitchen to answer a practical question: Can cottage cheese make party dips creamier without making the recipe complicated?<\/p>\n
By the end of the segment, we had two very different answers sitting on the counter. The first was a cottage cheese guacamole with a little green chile heat. The second was a three-ingredient queso-style dip made for tostadas, tortilla chips and football parties.<\/p>\n
A creamier take on guacamole<\/p>\n
We started with fresh avocado and added Price\u2019s <\/a>cottage cheese for a smoother, creamier texture. A spoonful of Price\u2019s <\/a>Green Chile Dip brought in the spice, while lime and sea salt kept everything bright.<\/p>\n The key was not to overthink it. Mash the avocados, mix in the dairy ingredients, add the lime and salt, then adjust the texture until it looks right.<\/p>\n Chef Diego connected the cottage cheese to something many people are already thinking about when they plan meals and snacks.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople nowadays are looking for more protein in their meals. So the cottage cheese is a really easy way to do that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The cottage cheese blended into the guacamole instead of overpowering it. The finished dip looked smooth, held together beautifully and still tasted like the party favorite people expect. The green chile added just enough Borderland heat to make things interesting.<\/p>\n This was not about turning guacamole into something unrecognizable. It was a practical way to make a familiar recipe feel a little more substantial.<\/p>\n Three ingredients for a queso-style dip<\/p>\n The second recipe was even more direct.<\/p>\n Chef Diego blended Price\u2019s <\/a>cottage cheese with Price\u2019s <\/a>Green Chile Dip until the mixture became creamy. He then added 16 ounces of extra-sharp cheddar cheese.<\/p>\n That was it: cottage cheese, flavored dip and cheddar.<\/p>\n We served the finished mixture with tostadas and talked through a few topping possibilities. Fresh tomatoes and onions both made the list. The dip had enough body to stay on the tostada, which matters once the snack table gets crowded.<\/p>\n It also came together without a long list of specialty ingredients. The cottage cheese created the creamy base, the cheddar brought the stronger cheese flavor and the green chile dip added the spice.<\/p>\n Make it milder or turn up the heat<\/p>\n The same idea can move in different directions by changing the flavored dip.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can do French onion,\u201d Chef Diego said. \u201cOr if you do want a little more spice, do the jalape\u00f1o.\u201d<\/p>\n French onion keeps the flavor familiar and mild. Jalape\u00f1o gives it a stronger kick. Green chile lands somewhere in the middle and brings in a flavor that feels right at home in El Paso.<\/p>\n For the final taste test, Yvonne from Texas Culinary Institute and Monica joined us at the counter. The group agreed that the dip was creamy, colorful and a little spicy. Once we said, \u201cDig in,\u201d nobody needed a second invitation.<\/p>\n