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!

Pasta Time

What do you do when you have extra heavy cream in the fridge that you want to use up? Why turn it into a creamy tomato sauce! I use pasta dishes as an excuse to use up ingredients in the fridge.

This time, I used 4 Trader Joe's Pesto Sausages, half of a sweet onion and 1 green bell pepper. I sauteed them with some olive oil and then added 6 ounces of tomato paste and some heavy cream until I get the consistency I want.

It is funny that the pasta of this dish is the least important part!

Pizza Pie

What is the secret to good bread machine pizza dough? Well it is adding garlic powder and other spices to the dough. This way, the dough has some good flavor if it is too thick in places on the pie. A 2lb loaf creates enough dough for 2 - 13 inch crusts.

I baked the crust in an oven prheated to 400 degrees F before adding the toppings. This time I used mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce and caramelized onions. (Most of the time I add raw onions and peppers.) Making pizza is so easy and simple, that I try to always keep some dough in the fridge for a last minute meal.

The pizza was baked until the cheese started to bubble, about 10 minutes. Let it cool and then enjoy a yummy, yummy pizza!

Indy's Sick Day

Last fall, Indy (our American Eskimo puppy at 4 months old) got really sick (*cough* digestively.) The vet told us to keep him on a bland diet of boiled rice and chicken with no salt or oil. Enter the rice cooker + 3.5 cups rice + 7 cups water + 2 chopped up chicken breasts = Indy's food for the weekend.

I knew there is no butter or spices in the mix, but it smelled AMAZING. Even I wanted to eat it!

Indy was particularly excited when he smelled this food. (He also had not had anything to eat for a while that day.)

I think that Indy liked this bland dinner more than his standard kibble... Despite being sick, he was a very happy boy at mealtimes.

Since this bout with illness, Indy has been very healthy. And I have learned a good trick to temperarly help with digestive issues... canned pumpkin!

Margaritas

Fresh lime juice is the best when you want fresh margaritas, but sometimes you just cannot get your hands on that many limes! In a pinch, here is a recipe that I like to use for Margaritas:

• 1 can of frozen Minute Maid Limeade
• 3 cans of water
• 200 mL of tequila (~1 cup)
• 100 mL of tripplesec (~1/2 cup)

And voilà, a yummy pitcher of margaritas.

Gnocchi for Six

Handmade gnocchi is a lot of fun to make, but I am always afraid of it clumping during boiling. (I had one disastrous experiment when I tried a variation of my recipe and I ended up with a mashed mush.) I wanted to make gnocchi with my Pals so I doubled the normal standard recipe, keeping my fingers crossed that I would be able to fit them all in one pot.

To set the stage for dinner, I steamed broccoli and placed it in the bowls. Cream and broccoli go so well together, don't they?

Before dropping the gnocchi in the water, I set up the creamy pesto sauce (discussed in the previous post) to simmer. I put the dumplings directly in the sauce after they floated so that way they would not stick together.

I was so lucky that there was no clumping! It was a bit stressful dropping so many gnocchi into the pot at once (trying not to compress them as I put them into the water) but it ended up even better than I could have hoped.

With any yummy sauce, you need to have some bread to wipe up what is left! I whipped up some bread machine pizza dough and twisted them into breadsticks. The dough was brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt before baking.

I am very lucky to have great friends to share wonderful food with. Especially when those friends decide to come out to Evanston to visit. Anyone else want to come to dinner? :)

Pesto

Growing up, I was not a huge fan of pesto. Keith has always loved it, and after meeting him my appreciation grew. We frequently have gnocchi in a creamy pesto sauce, but the best I had ever had was from our cooking class where everything was made fresh. Since we were going to have friends come to town, I thought it would be fun to make gnocchi from scratch with creamy pesto sauce, but I wanted to pre-make the pesto.

This a nut free pesto since one of our friends has an allergy. It contained:

• 4 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 6 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1.5 cup olive oil

Of course we had to test the sauce out to make sure it would be suitable for company. I heated the pesto up in a 1:1 ratio with heavy cream and served on pasta with fresh grated parmesan cheese.