Saturday, September 5, 2009

5 Layer Dip Anyone?

So we had an Enrichment Night a few weeks ago and I decided to take some dip. Sometimes I make it for dinner and Adam and I eat about 1/2 of it one night, the other half the next. I also make the same amount, spread between a few smaller containers, and take it to school for lunch. It tastes good cold or hot. It's super easy and fairly healthy. A lot of the ingredients can be substituted for fresh or low/no fat ingredients. I also eliminated the guacamole (because I haven't been able to find any really good stuff) and because avacados are SUPER high in calories.

1 can refried beans (low/no fat available)
½ lb. browned hamburger (drained)
¾ cup water
¼ cup taco seasoning (or lightly cover surface of browned hamburger in skillet)
½ cup salsa (of your choice)
½ cup sour cream (low/nonfat available)
Shredded cheddar cheese
1 tomato, chopped
¼ yellow onion, chopped (or about 3 tbsp.)
Tortilla chips

In a skillet, brown 1/2 lb. hamburger. Drain grease. When it is browned, add 3/4 cup water to skillet and ¼ cup taco seasoning. I just sprinkle it right on top of the beef to cover it. Cover with lid and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until water is absorbed. Stir occasionally.
In a 9.5" glass pie dish, spread one can refried beans. Place in microwave and heat for 2 minutes, or until warm. *(You can also add Olive Oil to the beans to make them thinner and more dip-able, and you get your required daily amount of olive oil.)
Spread seasoned hamburger over beans in pie dish.
Lightly cover hamburger with shredded cheese. Wait a few minutes until the cheese has melted a little bit. DO NOT heat the cheese to melt it! This will make it more difficult to spread the sour cream.
Cover cheese with ½ cup sour cream. *(This may get messy, but it all tastes the same. Just make sure the beef and cheese are completely covered.)
Spread ½ cup salsa over sour cream.
Sprinkle shredded or grated cheddar cheese over the top to cover.
Add chopped tomatoes and onions.

If you want to include more fresh ingredients, you can add olives, cilantro, guacamole, etc. to taste. To make it more filling, add 1 cup cooked rice on top of beans, before the hamburger.

Enjoy with tortilla chips! (Sounds silly, but choose strong tortilla chips that are made for scooping. Others break really easily.)

This may be a little less healthy than some other dishes on here, but it can be healthified! And it's yummy and quick. I don't know where to find calorie counters for food dishes since I'm pretty new at this. Any recommendations are welcome!

2 comments:

Megs said...

Awesome recipe! You can become a memeber of recipezaar.com for free, and post your recipe there. Once it posts, it will display the nutritional info for you. I've done it for a couple of my recipes, and it's really handy. Plus, I love organizing my own "cookbook" on the site with favorite recipes I find.

Heather said...

That's really cool! I'll have to try it out. Thanks!