Ro-Tel Tomatoes

[snowangel]

There are several items in my kitchen which are must-haves. Pasta. Olive Oil. Canned tomatoes. Tuna packed in olive oil. A shelf of mustard. Salt-packed anchovies and capers.

And, Those Cans Of Ro-Tel.

Saturday, we had tortilla chips. Diana, wanting a quick salsa fix, doctored a can of Ro-Tel.

Sunday, in honor of not watching the super bowl game, Peter wanted some kind of cheezy dip with the remainder of the tortilla chips. Cheese and Ro-Tel.

Last night, needed a one dish dinner, due to schedules. Tortillas, the rest of my smoked butt, cheese, some beans I'd cooked with the smoky, meaty bone of said smoked butt, a handful of frozen corn. Topped with a can of Re-Tel.

Tonight, another catch-as-can dinner, everyone eating in shifts. A soup of beef stock, beefy bits, the veg that was needing to be used. A handful of noodles. It needed something. Ro-Tel to the rescue.

We will add them to a pot of chili pretty darned soon.

Agumentation in a can, Diana and I decided tonight. We think we need a case of cans in the pantry.

So, do you use Ro-Tel, and if so, do provide additional ideas.

[Dave the Cook]

A well-drained can of Ro-Tel tomatoes is a nice change of pace when stirred (or layered) into macaroni and cheese.

[gperls]

I'll add a can of Rotel to creole dishes, like grillades or gumbo, that call for diced tomatoes.

There's always the classic Velveeta and Rotel dip.

[NancyH]

I just tried the venerable Ro Tel and Velveeta for the first time, in the microwave, and the cheese (if you can call Velveeta "cheese") broke! Any tips for making this next time?

[Fat Guy]

My mother's "friend" Nick, who is from Texas, is a major consumer of Ro*Tel (the product originated in Elsa, Texas). I believe he favors the Extra Hot Diced Tomatoes & Chile Peppers formulation. The combination with Velveeta is something that has been presented to me on several occasions, and it's pretty tasty as a dip for tortilla chips absentmindedly consumed while watching television.

[hwilson41]

Rotel's Tomatoes and Green Chilies is great for a quick and dirty chili for hot dogs or chili cheeseburgers when you don't want to do the full blown deal. Far, far better than the crap in the stores that is mostly fat and whatever they could scape up off the floor during cleaning .

THW

[Lone Star]

No self-respecting Texas cook is without several cans of Ro-tel in the pantry!

There is always the classic King Ranch Casserole, and it makes excellent huevos rancheros.

For the husbands poker parties, I make the usual Velveeta queso with the addition of browned spicy sausage and scallions. Will keep in a crockpot all night.

[RebeccaT]

Quick and easy dinner for us is a can of black beans, rinsed, a can of Rotel, undrained, some cumin, salt, and maybe some garlic powder... cook for 15 minutes while your rice cooks. Black beans and rice. Mmmm.

[highchef]

I sneak a can in my spagetti sauce...followed my mom's recipe when I was first married (she was Irish, but cooked the best spagetti, ever) and when it called for canned tomatoes, I threw in ro-tel not knowing any better. It was different, but still pretty good so I moderated it to have just the one can for a little kick. It is a pantry staple.

[Jaymes]

I just tried the venerable Ro Tel and Velveeta for the first time, in the microwave, and the cheese (if you can call Velveeta "cheese") broke!  Any tips for making this next time?

Hum....never heard of this before. Did you stir? How much cheese to one can of Ro-Tel?

[ratgirlny]

A friend of mine in Texas mailed me a couple of cans of RoTel, and dare i say it - I found it bland. It just tasted like diced tomatoes to me. I could see some peppers in it, but I couldn't taste them.

I doctor mac n cheese by putting in some jarred salsa (Chi-chi's Hot).

[hwilson41]

A friend of mine in Texas mailed me a couple of cans of RoTel, and dare i say it - I found it bland. It just tasted like diced tomatoes to me. I could see some peppers in it, but I couldn't taste them.

←

You are spot on on that, it is not spicy at all if you have a taste for spicy food. Add 3 or 4 chopped pickled jalapeños and it's a whole new ballgame .

THW

[Jaymes]

A friend of mine in Texas mailed me a couple of cans of RoTel, and dare i say it - I found it bland. It just tasted like diced tomatoes to me. I could see some peppers in it, but I couldn't taste them.

There are several varieties of Ro-Tel. Some are much hotter than others.

[mnebergall]

A friend of mine in Texas mailed me a couple of cans of RoTel, and dare i say it - I found it bland. It just tasted like diced tomatoes to me. I could see some peppers in it, but I couldn't taste them.

There are several varieties of Ro-Tel. Some are much hotter than others.

←

Ro*Tel Tomato Varieties.

[fifi]

I have been known to dump a can or two onto a pot roast.

Add a can to a bean soup.

BTW . . . Get the hot stuff. They have dumbed down varieties out there now.

[sladeums]

I just tried the venerable Ro Tel and Velveeta for the first time, in the microwave, and the cheese (if you can call Velveeta "cheese") broke!  Any tips for making this next time?

Hum....never heard of this before. Did you stir? How much cheese to one can of Ro-Tel?

←

Also was it low-fat Velvetta?

We unintentionally stumbled across this stuff recently, and it totally screwed our 'trailer park' au gratin potatoes.

You also may have mistaken the 'breaking' as the liquid from the tomatoes separating out from the cheese.

Make sure your can of tomatoes is very well-drained, smash down the lid and all - - extract as much liquid as possible before adding to the cheese.

Another way to avoid this is to melt the cheese alone and add the well-drained, room-temp tomatoes afterwards - in addition to making the cheese cool enough to eat it does not get as soupy.

[CtznCane]

The first time I used them was when the woman I ordered crawfish and turtle meat out of Louisianna gave me a recipe for crawfish etouffe with them and it was great. Since then I'll use them in a variety of dishes and always keep a few cans on hand.

[Jinmyo]

There are several varieties of Ro-Tel.  Some are much hotter than others.

Ro*Tel Tomato Varieties.

But what variety of tomatoes are used to make these products?

As a Brit living in Canada who has lived in the U.S. a long time ago, I must confess I've never heard of the brand.

edit:

But as well I don't understand what they are. Whuzza?

Edited February 10, 2005 by Jinmyo (log)

[ludja]

Some background info on the TexMex roots of Ro*Tel.

edited to add: this link also has a slew of recipes using Ro*Tel tomatoes...

Edited February 10, 2005 by ludja (log)

[Jinmyo]

Thanks.

[Jaymes]

Make sure your can of tomatoes is very well-drained, smash down the lid and all - - extract as much liquid as possible before adding to the cheese.

Well, this bit is news to me. As someone who has been eating "queso" (short for "chile con queso," which is what us Texans call the Velveeta/Ro-Tel concoction) for literally decades, I've never drained the tomatoes, nor has anyone else that I've ever watched make it. Which is a LOT of people.

The pre-microwave way was to chunk up the Velveeta into a saucepan, and then dump the Ro-Tel into it, juice and all. You need the juice to get the queso to the right dipping or pouring consistancy. You just have to stir, and keep stirring.

Now, many of us Texicans do it in the microwave, but everyone I've ever seen make it treasures that Ro-Tel juice.

So now I'm worried. Do most of y'all drain?

Edited February 10, 2005 by Jaymes (log)

[fifi]

I don't drain. I think the culprit may be the microwave, or the way it is used. When you do it the traditional way on the stove top, it is over low heat and you stir. You can't put the concoction in the microwave, nuke it on high and walk off. You end up with uncombined glop. If you must use the darn thing, don't go any higher than 50% and stop every 30 seconds or so and stir.

[bleachboy]

I don't drain, either. I just dump the Ro-tel and cubed Velveeta into a saucepan and turn on the heat. Always turns out perfect.

[jmcgrath]

I wish I could find Ro*Tel in the Boston area. The same goes for Campbell's Cream of Poblano soup. I must live in a cultural backwater.

Jim

[tupac17616]

I don't drain either. Just cook up some spicy sausage or chorizo depending on my mood, drop it in the crockpot with the velveeta, and let it all come together. The quintessential Texas "recipe", if you could call it that