7 Layer Taco Dip

Everyone loves my Taco dip, but I'm not sure that it's actually 7 layers. It is a great way to prepare for any party, because you can make the dip the morning of, and then stick it into the oven once guests arrive. This way, they are guaranteed to enjoy a warm, melted, delicious taco dip!

Ingredients

• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1- 16oz can refried beans
• 1 - 8 oz cream cheese
• 1- 16oz sour cream (use half)
• 1 jar salsa
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1 can black olives
• Shredded cheddar cheese (lots)
• Avocados
• lime (for garnish if making guacamole)

Layers:
1) mix beans with taco seasoning

2) Sour cream and cream cheese (blended)

3) Guacamole (or in this case sliced avocado)

4) black olives

5) green onions

6) salsa

7)cheese

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 min (or until cheese is melted), serve and be happy. Make sure you enjoy some of the dip quickly, because it won't last long!

Black Beans and Rice

What do you do with random canned goods in your pantry when you are trying to clean it out? This is one of the best times to try new things... and get inventive with what you have.

I wasn't a huge fan of beans but the recipe for classic black beans and rice looks like it could be interesting so I decided to try it. (We still had plenty of rice from our Costco stash.) I substituted this is a shallot + some garlic powder for a clove of garlic.

I didn't think my onions were chopped finely enough, but it ended up working out in the end.

After I poured the beans in it looks kinda gross.. but I just crossed my fingers and kept faith.

And the beans are ready to go!

This story ends with a bit of a surprise. Since I wasn't sure if I would like this meal, I had cleared it with Keith that it would be his dinner for the next few days if I didn't care for it. But you know what? I liked it! I don't see this entering into the regular meal rotation, but it is something that I may choose to make on purpose next time, not because I'm trying to clean out my pantry.

When I mixed up the beans and rice, it looked really pretty.

A Tale of Two Moles - Part 3 (The Final Comparison)

Mole Poblano version 1 (left) and version 2 (right)

So was it worth the effort to collect the ingredients and make the more complected mole? Absolutely! I love that you store it at a smaller volume and add chicken broth when you are ready to serve. I still have some in my freezer that I cannot wait to use!

The simple sauce (version 1) is a good sauce on it's own, but if you want Mole Poblano, it is worth the extra effort to make version 2.

My in-laws create enchiladas every Christmas Dinner, and this year they used the authentic mole sauce that I created and had stored in my freezer. They proclaimed that it was as good as the neighborhood Mexican Restaurant's sauce!

Christmas Enchiladas

A Tale of Two Moles, Part 2

I found two different mole recipes, a quick version (shown in Part 1) and a more authentic version (shown in Part 2; this post). I wanted to know it was worth collecting the multiple ingredients and steps for the authentic version.

The hardest part of making the more authentic Mole sauce was tracking down all of the the ingredients. (Which can also add up to be quite expensive.)


The Ingredients for Authentic Mole Sauce

The peppers are the most important part of a mole sauce. I am not super tolerant of spicy things, so I decided to not use whole chipotle peppers, and instead add some of the spice (1/8 tsp) to the final product. This recipe had you save the seeds from the peppers to include in the final mixture.

This whole experiment started because I had some poblano peppers, which it turns out aren't even in the sauce! I dried them in my oven to create more Ancho peppers.


I couldn't find tomatillos in my supermarket, so I used an additional tomato. Fresh (left) and after roasting (right)


I couldn't find Mexican chocolate, so I substituted bittersweet chocolate. To counteract the bitterness, I added a few tablespoons of brown sugar to the sauce before serving.

Other ingredients include pumpkin seeds, peanuts, raisins, bread (!), tortillas (!) and a number of spices.

Cooking the Sauce

The recipe has fantastic step by step photographs of the process. I also took step by step pictures, so you can see how the mole sauce is created (although slowly). I don't think I can do justice to the steps, so I am going to let the photos speak for themselves.

I pureed the sauce in batches. The recipe crated 6 cups of mole sauce, before diluting it with the broth! I'm really glad I had a deep pan with a lid for the sauteing. In the end, it took an afternoon to make the sauce, so it was really not too much effort for the amount of sauce that you have to use later!

I had to add a couple T of brown sugar to help counteract the bitterness from the chocolate. This can be done to taste.

Authentic mole poblano sauce

Next time I make this, I will not include the pepper seeds. These didn't get soft enough or blend easily in the food processor.

A Tale of Two Moles - Part 1

My in-laws introduced me to Mole Poblano sauce, and I fell in love. Keith makes excellent enchiladas, so I wanted to find a mole sauce recipe that would complement it (since you cannot find it in supermarkets easily.)

I found two different mole recipes, a quick version (shown in Part 1) and a more authentic version (shown in Part 2). I wanted to compare the two sauces, because if the easier mole sauce tasted almost as good, then it would save a lot of preparation time.

The simple mole recipe only has a few ingredients, pictured above.

The onions, peppers and tomato sauce simmering, the longest step in a non-labor intensive process.

After adding the cocoa powder the sauce turned the nice brown that I expected.

This mole sauce took almost no time to create. The simmering was the longest step. It can be easily created without much effort, especially if you decide not to puree it as I did. The sauce had a good flavor, but it didn't quite match the expectation of Mole Poblano that I had in my head.

Mole sauce version 1, after pureeing.

Stay tuned for a description of the more authentic Mole Poblano recipe in my next post.