With the BCS championship (go LSU) in the past and the Superbowl and Mardi Gras in the future, I thought I’d post my version of the 7-layer dip for gatherings. It goes particularly well with the easy, breezy sangria. Now this isn’t the healthiest of our meals, but it has protein, vegetables, and fruit so it’s too bad…
First the Sangria.
- A bottle of dry red wine, though any will do, frankly.
- 1/4 cup of white sugar
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
- 3/4 cup of orange juice
- can of pineapple with juice reserved (~1/2 cup)
- lemon
- 1 cup of grapes, halved
Between a day and 2 hours or so before I’m going to make these, I open the can of pineapple chunks and drain the juice into another cup to reserve. Then squeeze a lemon over the pineapple and the cup of halved grapes, cover, place in freezer to use as ice cubes.
Then when I’m ready for these colorful little drinks I pour the sugar into a pitcher. Pour the wine on top of it and stir it around until the sugar is dissolved. Add the pineapple, lime, and orange juice. Stir well. Add the frozen, lemon covered pineapple and grapes to 4 glasses and pour the sangria on top. Delicious!
Serves 4, makes 8 normal-sized drinks.
Now for the dip.
Preheat the oven to 350. In a rectangular (or be crazy and use an oval-shaped one!) glass or ceramic baking dish, place/smear the following (in order from bottom to top layer)
- 1 can of refried beans
- 1 can of black beans tossed in juice of 1/2 lime and 1 tsp of cumin
- 16 oz of sour cream and 8 oz of cream cheese mixed with 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, dash of cracked salt/pepper
- 2 avocados, smashed and seasoned with salt/pepper/juice of one lemon
- 2 diced tomatoes or 1 can of diced tomatoes mixed with 1/2 bag of Quorn meatless crumbles* and 1/2 cup of water. Heat on the stove for 7 minutes before adding as a layer.
- 1 can of corn (mexicorn is best) tossed with a little balsamic vinegar and 1/2 a lime
- 1 jar (16oz) of salsa
- 5 oz of chedder cheese, grated and spread on top.
*I’d highly recommend that if you haven’t tried Quorn meatless crumbles, you do so. Not only is it a soy-free fake meat alternative, it’s actually made from mycoprotein–a fungus with all 9 amino acids. More on why I try to limit soy products later.
Place this baby in the oven for 30 minutes and enjoy!
