Layered Taco Dip – An easy take-along dish!

With the holidays too fast aproaching, I am going to post recipes over the next few weeks that would be great for toting along to the family gatherings.  Some will be appetizer/finger food type dealies, some will be side dishes, and some will be desserts.  I may throw in a few meat dishes as well, who knows. 

Today I’m going to share an easy peasy dip recipe.  This is one of those recipes that isn’t really a recipe at all…you just use what you have and what you like.    So, feel free to branch out from what I’ve done to suit your tastes.

The first thing you need to do is spread some refried beans in the bottom of a dish.  You need something with sides, as we’re gonna build this dip up in layers (hence the name “Layered” Taco Dip!).  I used a pie plate this time.

Now, dump some sour cream into a bowl and mix in some taco seasoning.  For 16 oz of sour cream you’ll need a whole packet of taco seasoning, if you use the packaged kind.  I make my own, so I just add it in till it looks good.  You really can’t go wrong here.  Adjust the amounts according to how much dip you’re making. 

Now, spread this mixture over the refried bean layer.

Then, chop up some tomatoes and add those over the sour cream layer.

Add a layer of shredded cheese – I like Colby-Jack cheese.

Now, open up a can of black beans and rinse them very well.  Scatter those over the cheese.

Now, chop up some fresh cilantro.  If you don’t like cilantro, just use some fresh parsley.  Sprinkle that over the beans.

Add any other ingredients you like in a Mexican dish.  Like onions?  Mince up an onion, or slice up a few green onions and throw those on.  Like a lot of heat?  Mince up a jalepeno and toss it on.  Like red or green bell peppers?  Dice those and add them.  Avocado?  Sure!  Salsa?  Why not!  (I planned on adding come diced avocado, but when I cut open my avocado, it was bad.  Oh well…it’s not the end of the world.)

Serve with tortilla chips and you’re good to go!

Aside from being a super simple dish to throw together, it makes a great party recipe because you can put it all together ahead of time (the day before even) and just let it hang out in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.  And any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a day or two as well.  Although, I doubt there’d be many leftovers…this stuff is killer.

Homemade Ranch Dressing…makes everything taste better

So, PW shared a recipe for Homemade Ranch Dressing once.  I never printed it off or tried it because I thought “How in the world can you make delicious ranch dressing at home?  It’s probably nowhere near the same taste as the bottled stuff.”  Well, someone should slap me for that comment.  Why on earth would I think that something in a bottle would taste better than homemade?  I must’ve had a brain fart. 

Fastforward to a few weeks ago.  I wanted salad and was out of the bottled stuff  I wanted to redeem myself, so I went back to PW’s Blog, printed the recipe and tried it myself.  Come along as I try my hand at this homemade Ranch Dressing.  We’ll just see if it really is as good (or better??) than the bottled stuff.  We’ll just see.

Let’s do this thing.

Grab a bowl and dump in a cup of mayo.  Use the REAL stuff people, not the fake junk.  Sacrifice something else in your diet this week if you need to, but we need the real stuff here.

Grab some sour cream and add 1/2 cup to the bowl.

Stir that together real good.  Now, let’s go over to the cutting board.

Grab a clove of garlic.  Chop it up pretty good.

Sprinkle the garlic with some salt, oh, just shy of 1/4 tsp.  Then, mash it all up with a fork until it becomes like a paste.

Now you need to chop up about a 1/4 cup of fresh parsley and a couple tbsp of fresh chives.  I was amazed that I still had some growing in my herb pots this time of year, but if you don’t have any growing in your garden, you can almost always find these in the grocery store produce isle. 

Toss the chopped herbs into the bowl with the mayo/sour cream.

Now, you need to add some milk/buttermilk to get it to the right consistency.  Buttermilk will give it a nice tangy taste, but if you’re like me, you never have buttermilk on hand.  So, I fake it.  I take a little regular milk, add a splash of lemon juice to it,  and let it sit on the counter for a minute or so.  The lemon juice will thicken the milk a bit and give it a nice tangy flavor.  You can use this trick for pretty much any recipe that calls for buttermilk.  But I probably wouldn’t try drinkin’ it.  That’d just be gross I think.  Anyway, back to the dressing.  Pour your buttermilk, or fake buttermilk…maybe we’ll call it futtermilk…into the mayo mixture a little at a time.

Add just enough futtermilk to get it to the consistency you like.  Stir it all together and give it a taste.   I would suggest actually tasting it on a piece of lettuce and not just using a spoon or your finger. 

I know what you’re thinking.  That was too simple, right?  Mayo, sour cream, buttermilk, garlic and herbs.  That’s IT?  Yup.  That’s it.  Of course, you can add other stuff if you want, like vinegar, dill, worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, paprika,  tobasco, other fresh herbs or anything else that tickles your fancy.  But me?  I like it plain and simple. 

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.  It will thicken some as it chills, so you might need to add a little more futtermilk to thin it down later.  It’s all good.

 This stuff is awesome people.  I think the heavens opened up and I heard the angels sing when I tasted this stuff.  I’ll never buy that bottled stuff again.  Never in a million years.  This stuff is That. Good.

Printable Recipe:  Homemade Ranch Dressing

Southwestern Eggrolls

Remember the Pizza Sticks  I talked about a couple days ago?  And I told you that I’d share another filling that would be fab-o done the same way?  Well, here it is.  Southwestern Eggrolls.  I could’ve called them Southwestern Sticks I guess…but that just sounded funny to me, so I went with eggrolls instead. 

Here’s the filling I came up with for this version.  It’s basically just some things I threw together, nothing real precise.  It could easily be one of those clean-out-the-fridge type meals.

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup corn

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained well

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

Approx. 1/2 cup salsa or taco sauce

Just cook your beef  until it is browned and onions are soft.  Place it in a bowl and add the black beans…

and add onions, corn and cheese.  Although, next time I think I’ll cook the onions with the ground beef so they’ll lose their crunch.

Add the spiced and stir together.  Add just enough salsa or taco sauce to hold the mixture together.  You don’t want it to be too wet, or the sauce will ooze out during baking.

Roll up into egg roll wrappers just like for the pizza sticks. Place on a baking sheet.

Spray with cooking spray and bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

And that, my cooking friends, is a Southwestern Eggroll!  Easy and delicious.  Like the Pizza Sticks, these can be served as a main dish, or as an appetizer. 

 

Happy Cookin’!

Pizza Sticks

I made it!  I promised I’d add a recipe on Friday and it’s still Friday…for a couple hours anyway! 

So, today I’m sharing a fun kid-friendly recipe that is super simple to throw together.  You know those rectangular shaped pizza snacks that you get in the freezer section?  Well, it’s like that…only tubular and they taste much better! 

All you need is your favorite pizza fixin’s – pizza sauce, pepperoni, mozarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and anything else that tickles your fancy (cooked ground beef, onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc) and some egg roll wrappers.  That’s it! 

Here’s how it goes down.  First, you chop up any large pieces of stuff like the pepperoni, veggies, etc (I just used pepperoni this time)…

And shred your cheese, if it’s not shredded already (I actually julienned some swiss cheese slices because that’s what I had on hand, and it tasted great!)  Throw it all together in a bowl, along with any other toppings you wish to include…

Then I decided to throw in some leftover ground beef I had in the freezer (Thawed first) and some chopped garlic.  It’s not rocket science here…if it sounds good, throw it in!

Now stir in just enough pizza sauce to make the mixture just  hold together…

You don’t want it soupy…just barely moist enough to hold together.

Now, get out your egg roll wrappers and lay one down with a corner pointing toward you, like this…

Then, place a line of filling, oh about 2-3 tablespoons, about two inches up from the bottom corner, like so…

Then, fold the bottom corner up over filling and start rolling up…

Now, fold in the side corners…

Now, moisten the top corner with a little water…

And finish rolling it up…

Place seamside down on a baking sheet.  I lined mine with parchment paper.  Why?  Because I’m lazy and I didn’t want to wash another pan!  Seriously.  Continue with the rest of the egg roll wrappers and filling.  Then, spray the tops of the rolls with cooking spray and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Yes…I use the stuff in the green can.  I’m not a parmesan cheese snob.  I mean, yeah, the real stuff is much better…but when it’s going in pizza sticks for kids?  I’m not wasting my money.  My kids like canned stinky cheese.  Actually, they love it…I think we go through a can a week or something.  Wait…I’m rambling on about stinky cheese, aren’t I?  Back to our regularly scheduled program.  Bake those sticks at 425 for about 15-20 minutes or until they’re a light golden brown.

 

That’s it, people.  Homemade pizza snacks.  They’re healthier.  They’re bigger.  They’re yummier.  And, let’s face it…they’re cuter.  Just look at them all lined up like the Rockettes…

You can’t tell me you’d rather eat a regtangular frozen piece of who knows what?

Up next…same type of a roll-up but another filling for a whole different flavor!

Fiesta Black Bean Salsa…or Salad, whichever.

Today I wanted to share a super super simple adn quick recipe with you.  This is a great side dish with any Mexican-style meal.  And it makes a GREAT dish to take with you to your next pot-luck or picnic because there’s nothing in it that would really go bad…well, I mean, you wouldn’t want it to sit out for like, oh, a week and then eat it.  Um…that would just be gross!  But, like I said, it’s something you CAN take to a picnic or potluck and not have to worry about it spoiling.  And did I mention it was simple and easy?  And quick too?

Enter my Fiesta Black Bean Salsa…or Salad.  I call it salsa because we eat it with tortilla chips, but you could call it a salad if you were just eating it as a side dish with your meal.  Either way, I think you’ll love it.

Here’s what I put in mine…but like I’ve said before…you can always add other things that you like.  I’m kinda picky, so there are some things that I do NOT add purposely…like jalepenos for instance.  Sweet Georgia Brown, my mouth burns just thinking of those suckers.  No WAY am I puttin them in my salsa!  But if you like a little heat…throw one in.  And anything else you like that would fit in well with this salsa.  So…the recipe…

3 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp olive oil (I use extra virgin)

1 garlic clove, minced (or, I like to grate it over a microplan for better distribution)

1/2 tsp ground cumin (adds a nice, yet subtle smoky flavor)

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper (everyone should own a peppermill…even if it’s the little McCormick kind!)

one 19 oz can of black beans, rinsed well and drained

2 cups fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels*

1/4 onion, finely minced (or use more of the onion if you like, and feel free to use bigger chunks than I do…I have a wierd thing about crunching into a fresh onion.  Shudder!)

1-2 tomatoes, diced

1-2 avocados, diced (I didn’t put it in the salsa this time, b/c we’d already eaten all the avocados we had!)

 

In a big bowl, just toss all the ingredients together well.  Serve with tortilla chips or as a side to your favorite main dish.

*About the corn…if you’re serving this at home, right away, I’d either use fresh corn or use thawed frozen corn to prepare this.  BUT, if you’re taking this to a pot-luck or picnic, I’d use the corn FROZEN and make it as late at possible.  That way the corn will thaw in transport and keep the dish colder longer.  But that’s just my opinion.

And like I said, add other ingredients as you like…diced jalepenos, bell peppers, even add some little chunks of cheese if you want.  Some quinoa would even be good  (Jo…I’ve not gotten any in forever…I need to get some more…wanna make a road trip when you visit?)   There’s no wrong way to do this salsa!

 

Have you all seen Julie and Julia yet?  I want to see it this week. Who wants to go with me????

Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip

I never thought I would like something that included not only spinach…but artichokes too?!  Yes, I was greatly surprised.  Like I said…I’m a bit of a picky eater.  But once I tasted it, I knew that I would be making this alot!  It’s a dish I often take to potlucks and parties.

I’ve tried several recipes, trying to find the one that I liked the most.  This is it.  Simple.  Quick.  Delish.  Can’t get much better than that!

Here’s what you’ll need for this one:

1 tbsp butter

8 oz cream cheese

1 garlic clove

1 cup frozen spinach, cooked and drained

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Start out by preheating your oven to 350F.

Cube the cream cheese and place it in a skillet with the butter over medium heat.

 Stir occasionally while it melts down.  Meanwhile, cook spinach in microwave following package directions.  Thoroughly drain spinach by placing it in a colander or seive over a bowl and pressing down firmly on the spinach.

When cream cheese starts to melt down, grate the garlic into the pan.  You can mince it finely instead, but I like to grate it b/c you don’t end up with any big hunks of garlic in the dip and the juices are released a bit more when grating, so that helps the flavor really distribute through the dip as well. 

 When the cream cheese is completely melted, stir in the spinach and chopped artichokes

along with the sour cream and half of the shredded cheese

Stir well and pour into a baking dish

Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  Serve with chips or bread cubes.

That’s it!  Super simple, yet super delicious!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Printable Version of Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip