Mexican 6 Layer Dip

I'm going to link to several recipes in this post, because I used a basic recipe for dip (which can be found here).  But instead of using that avocado layer, I combined two recipes for guacamole (which can be found here and here).  So the setup here will be a little different.  I'll explain what I did for the guacamole, and then for the dip.

Guacamole

  

Ingredients:

• 3 Avocados (peel & pit)
• Juice of one lime
• 1/4 red onion (chopped)
• Small handful minced cilantro
• 1 small clove of garlic
• Salt & pepper to taste

 Directions: 

1. Peel & pit the avocados (I use a spoon to take the pit out, which is the hardest part IMO; then I slip the spoon under the avocado & scoop it right out- so easy).  Place avocados in a bowl and mash- I started just mashing with a spoon and then switched to a potato masher, worked like a charm.
2. Chop the red onion (you could add more, but my husband isn't crazy about red onions so I used a minimal amount), add to bowl and mix.
3. Juice the lime, add to bowl and mix.
4. Chop the garlic, add to bowl, and mix.
5. Chop the cilantro, add to bowl, and mix (you may want to add slowly & taste as you go alone if using fresh cilantro- it's much stronger than dried...but in a good way).
6. Add salt & pepper to taste.

6 Layer Dip

 

Ingredients: 

•  16 oz refried/black beans
• Homemade guacamole
• 1 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 pack taco seasoning
• 3 tomatoes 
• 1/2 cup sliced olives
• 16 oz shredded cheese
• Tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Chop the tomatoes & olives (if so desired)
2. Mix the sour cream & taco seasoning.
3.  Spread beans in the bottom of a large dish.
4. Add  guacamole.
5. Add sour cream/taco seasoning mix.
6. Add cheese.
7. Add tomatoes.
8. Add olives.
9. Serve with tortilla chips & enjoy!

My changes: 

• As mentioned, I used the above guacamole mixture instead of just mashing the avocados- it was AMAZING!  On it's on I thought it was okay, but mixed with the rest of the ingredients Oh. My. God. (said in the voice of Janice from F*R*I*E*N*D*S).
• The original recipe is for a 7 layer dip, but one of those layers is onions.  Since I already had red onions in my guacamole, I decided to skip this layer.
• While this was a great vegetarian recipe (even my husband, who is the ultimate "I am man, I eat meat" kind of guy, loved it), you could easily add a meat layer with ground beef or shredded chicken.  
• This recipe was SO easy to prepare, AND I didn't have to turn on my oven or even microwave (a big plus in the summer).  It's surprisingly filling & delicious- I'm sure I'll be making it again soon. 
• One thing- have a HUGE bag of tortilla chips.  The delicious salty chips with the cool, smooth taste from the guacamole & sour cream...my mouth is watering... 

Mexican Cornbread

I didn't actually follow this recipe exactly, but it was my basis.

Mexican Cornbread

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 (15 ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1/2 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers, drained
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in cream corn, chiles, Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to corn mixture; stir until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into center of the pan comes out clean.

My Changes

• I didn't have all of the necessary ingredients, so I just used the cornmeal that I had on hand.  I mixed it per instructions on the bag and then added whole kernel corn (creamed freaks me out), chili peppers, & cheese as per the above recipe.   Then I cooked it for about 40 minutes.
• I think creamed corn might have been okay in this, because it was a tad bit dry.  But still freakin' delicious.
• If you make this recipe, please be sure to read the reviews because most people cut the butter & sugar in half, which can make a BIG difference.

Enchi-ritos?

Hola!  You are probably wondering WTH an "enchi-rito" is.  I certainly would have been if I were in your shoes.  I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com for "enchiladas," but according to the comments that is very untrue and somewhat offensive since true enchildas are made with corn tortillas, not flour tortillas.  I liked one commentator's description of an "enchi-rito" so I'm choosing to call it that- I can't help it, I have a thing for funny words.

Enchi-ritos

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (1.5 ounce) package dry enchilada sauce mix
• 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium skillet over medium high heat, cook the ground beef and onion until beef is evenly browned and onion is tender.
2. Prepare the enchilada sauce according to package directions. Pour 1/4 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. On each flour tortilla, place an equal portion of the ground beef mixture and about 1 ounce of Cheddar cheese, reserving at least 1/2 cup of cheese. Then tightly roll the tortillas and place seam side down in the baking dish.
4. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and olives.
5. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and cheese is thoroughly melted.

My Changes

• Per comments, I added 1/2 a pack of taco seasoning to the ground beef.
• We used canned enchilada sauce, both regular red mild & green.  B LOVED the green, I preferred the red.
• We also had refried beans and sour cream to add at the end, because that's what we like.
• We used about 1.4 lbs of ground beef to make 4 enchi-ritos, with enough for one more left over.  Maybe we just overstuffed them, because they were HUGE after cooking.  But delicious none the less. 
• I left out the olives, because I accidentally picked up green olives instead of black and that just didn't seem like good substitution.