7 layer mexican dip

My family loves Dips n Chips.. This 7 layer dip is a favorite at our house.

Its so simple...

All you will need is the following:

(be creative and add extra stuff if you'd like)

this is what my fam, loves.. ♥

Mix the Taco season ing with the refried beans, and that will become your 1st layer.

Layer sour cream and then salsa.

Shredded cheese is next, topped with scallions, olives and tomatoes.

And Wa-la..

To see this blog post & Others, please

stop by SOCIAL BUTTERFLY.

..with ♥, SB.

Dark Chocolate Jumble Cookies (With Whole Wheat)

My daughter was begging for chocolate chip cookies today. I thought it might be fun to try some made with only whole wheat flour. We pulled out the wheat grinder and threw together these yummy cookies in a very short time. They were a hit! I'll definitely make them again.

You'll need:

1 cup softened butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

(Yeah, okay I never said they were health food...)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 cups whole oats, blended in the blender (measurement BEFORE blended.)

1 cup extra dark chocolate chips (with at least 60% cocoa.) My new favorite.

1/2 cup chopped almonds

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

1/2 cup shredded coconut

and next time I'm going to add 1 teaspoon almond extract. I think it's a secret ingredient for perfect cookies, but I forgot this time.

Cream together butter, eggs, and sugars. Sift together dry ingredients and combine it all together. Stir in chips, nuts, and coconut at the end. And remember the almond extract. You can thank me later.

Here's the dough. And you can just stop right there if you aren't opposed to consuming raw eggs, because the cookie dough is always superior to the cookies. And this dough doesn't disappoint.

Make the cookie balls small because these babies can really grow.

I shape them and flatten slightly.

Bake at 375 degrees for eleven and a half minutes. Well, if you have my oven.

Somewhere between 10 and 12 minutes should do the trick.

I'm at a high altitude that makes it difficult for trying new cookie recipes, and this one did just fine. They are a *tiny* bit crumbly, but plenty chewy and nearly a perfect texture. Especially for not having ANY white flour. Give them a try!

Oh my! I gained 5 pounds just reading your blog tonight! Just plain awesome. . .

Tomorrow morning we are trying the buttermilk syrup. I have never been a fan of maple syrup. I usually eat my pancakes, waffles, etc. with fruit only. This may be my new favorite.

I'll let you know.

Thanks for the blog. By the way, you girls are just down right beautiful--inside and out!

Salsa Bar for Dinner

Sometimes it's nice to have options. We had a lot of these ingredients sitting around, and I decided to make them all at once. Why not? One nice thing is that they share a lot of the same ingredients, so you only have to chop once. Love that!

Clockwise from the top we have pintos and cheese, salsa cruda, mango salsa, and guacamole.

(all completely from scratch)

These are all so easy to make, delicious, and healthy to boot. We ate them on tortillas and dipped with corn chips. (The not-so-healthy part.) But I can't complain when the kids are gobbling down this many good things.

[By the way, you may notice that the traditional peppers are missing from my recipes. I have a hard time digesting bell peppers, so we rarely use them, but if you love peppers, feel free to throw them in the mix. We find that omitting the peppers also makes it more "kid-friendly".]

Here are my recipes:

Pintos and cheese

Soak about 1 1/2 pounds of dry pinto beans overnight. Wash and rinse them well. Place them in the crockpot covered with plenty of water. Turn the crockpot on HIGH for about 4 hours. Sometimes I add a can of green chili's here for some extra flavor.

[*Sidenote* This particular batch of beans was getting old and had what we call RHB (Really Hard Beans). They were cooking for about 18 hours, but that is another story. They did eventually soften and worked great for the refried beans. Usually it works much faster.]

After your beans are pretty soft, drain off most of the water and use a stick blender (immersion blender) and blend those little darlin's to bits. A regular blender would probably work well too, but you might have to leave a little more water. After the beans are thoroughly mushed I season with cumin, garlic salt, salt, and pepper. Then top with cheese and leave your crockpot on warm until everything is ready to go. Easy as can be.

Guacamole

2 mashed avocados

juice from 1 lime

1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro

1/4 cup finely chopped white onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon cumin

black and red pepper to taste

Combine and enjoy! Cover tightly and refrigerate if there are any leftovers, but there won't be.

Salsa Cruda

4 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 white onion, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

3-4 cloves minced garlic

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

juice from 1 lime

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 jalapeno, finely diced (We left it out this time.)

Stir, mix, and enjoy.

Mango Salsa

2 fresh mangoes, diced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup white onion, finely diced (or red onion is beautiful! But we used white this time.)

1-2 cloves minced garlic

2 Tb fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/2 avocado, diced

juice from 1 lime

1/2 Tb sugar

dash of salt

Sweet and Sassy!

Favorite Marinade

This favorite marinade came from my favorite aunt! And it's fabulous on chicken and beef...

Give it a try...you won't be sorry!

½ c soy sauce
¼ c red wine vinegar
¼ c olive oil
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp Basil
¼ tsp Pepper

Marinade for 2-4 hours.

Tea time, anyone??

My sisters and I have always dreamed of traveling to the British Isles together and doing the castles, history, and literary tours there. Since we haven't been able to do that yet, we dream of doing it by watching Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown. Boy, does she have the life or what? Anyway, in one of the episodes she was in England and they are famous for their multiple time outs for tea. They eat cucumber sandwiches, shortbread, and scones with clotted cream, lemond curd and jams. We had to try them out. It's all as wonderful as it looked on Samantha Brown. It might not be the healthiest habit, but it sure brightens my day when I can sink my teeth into it's creamy goodness.

Clotted Cream:
1/2 cup heavy cream OR 8 oz. cream cheese or neufchatel (do not use light or fat-free)
2-4 T. powdered sugar (or to taste)
1/2 cup sour cream (do not use light or fat-free)
1 tsp. vanilla

If using heavy cream, beat until stiff. If using cream cheese, beat until smooth. Fold in sugar until dissolved. Fold in sour cream and vanilla. Chill. Keep refrigerated.

Lemon Curd:
Juice of 4 lemons OR 1 cup lemon juice
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter (do not use margarine), cut into cubes
2 cups sugar

Combine ingredients in a double boiler and cook, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth and translucent. If you do not have a double boiler, use a heavy-duty saucepan and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. This mixture can burn easily. Microwave is not recommended. For a stronger lemon flavor, add the grated zest of the 4 lemons. Pour mixture into a Mason jar with a tight lid and keep refrigerated. Use within two weeks.

Sorry, the picture didn't turn out very well.

English Scones:
2 cups flour
1 T. baking powder
2-4 T. sugar (depending on add-ins)
1/2 tsp. salt
6 T. butter (do not use margarine), cut into cubes
1/2 cup buttermilk

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry blender. Blend in buttermilk. Knead lightly a few times. Do not over-knead. Roll dough into a circle (not too thin). Cut into wedges, as if cutting a pizza. Place wedges on greased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10-20 minutes, depending on oven variations. Scones are done when golden brown on the outside, but fluffy on the inside.
Add-ins: apples, currants, ginger, orange or almond flavorings, vanilla, cinnamon, dried apricots, fresh blueberries, cranberries, chocolate chips, candied ginger, walnuts. Experiment with the add-ins, adjusting the sugar as necessary. If a bold ginger flavor is desired, add finely-chopped fresh ginger. If a mild ginger flavor is desired, use candied ginger. You can also try sauteing the chopped fresh ginger lightly in a little butter and sprinkling with sugar before adding to dough. If a bold nutty flavor is desired, try using toasted walnuts. Toast in a warm oven, stirring occasionally, until the nuts have softened slightly and have a strong scent. If using fresh blueberries, drain VERY WELL before adding to dough.

This picture happens to be some ginger scones. The smell of fresh ginger is absolute bliss. I could sniff it all day...but that wouldn't be very productive now would it :)
The clotted cream and lemon curd are also good on toasted English Muffins. Oh, and you don't have to serve them together. They stand on their own as well.