7 Layer Dip

To be perfectly honest, I shouldn't call this a 7 layer dip because I don't use them all, but I'll include my version as well as my mom's (the REAL 7 layer dip).

Ingredients

1 can of refried beans

1 12 oz. tub of sour cream

guacamole

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or more)

chopped jalapenos

halved cherry tomatoes (optional)

chopped black olives (optional)

1 packet of taco seasoning (optional)

I am not really giving a good description of the amounts because they are all relative to your tastes. This dip is impossible to mess up so it doesn't matter if you have too much sour cream or whatnot, because people are just going to eat around the parts they don't like anyway.

You'll need a shallow pan or dish (not too shallow though). You could use one of those 8x8 Pyrex dishes and it would probably work nicely. I put the refried beans at the bottom because they are the most dense & it is easier to spread the other layers on top of it. I use a spatula to spread it out until it coats the entire bottom of the dish. Don't worry about getting it perfectly flat, it will taste the same in the end!

Then I put the guacamole down. I didn't put an amount for this one because I have seen it in a tub as well as in a sealed plastic packet, so whatever form you find it in, just get one and that should be enough (or anything close to 12 oz. is always a safe bet). I recommend putting dollops of it evenly around the dish so it is easier to spread out without moving the layer of refried beans underneath. 

Now the next layer is the sour cream. My mom mixes a packet of taco seasoning in with the sour cream before spreading it. Dennis doesn't like taco seasoning so we just use plain sour cream. Again, drop a few dollops on top of the guacamole to spread it around more easily.

Now spread the shredded cheese on top of the whole mix. Easy enough. At this point, I usually spread the jalapenos on top and call it a night. However, the last few times I have made this, I have found that I favor the tomatoes more and more so they go on with the jalapenos. However, I draw the line at black olives. If you like them, spread them on top with the tomatoes and jalapenos.

There you have it! This dip is great for parties when you have to bring a dish. In fact, my friend Wally doesn't like cake so I made this for him for his birthday one year. He asked me to use ground beef instead of refried beans. The result tasted great but it was kind of hard to dip & the chips kept breaking. In the future, if I'm going to add ground beef I would mix it with the refried beans.

Red Beans and Rice

For my brother's 27th birthday this year, Dennis and I decided to try something really different (for us). We knew he had made Red Beans and Rice for himself before so we thought we would give it a shot.

Warning: This takes a LONG time to make so if you're going to tackle it make sure you allot yourself the proper amount of time. We were forced to rush a little bit and serve it up before it was technically ready. It still tasted amazing, so don't fret if you don't fulfill every minute of the recipe - it just tastes better and better as it cooks. You should give yourself around 4 hours to cook, and that doesn't include prepping the ingredients.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped bell peppers

Salt and cayenne, to taste

4 bay leaves

4 sprigs fresh thyme

1 pound smoked ham hocks

1/2 pound boiled picked pork meat

1 pound dried red beans, rinsed & sorted over, soaked & drained

3 tablespoons chopped garlic

10 cups chicken stock, or water

4 cups cooked white rice

1/4 cup chopped green onions

If you are like Dennis, you will want to emulate Emeril (who is to thank for this recipe) and prep your ingredients in little bowls for lovely presentation.

Another warning about time - as you can see in the ingredients, the red beans need to be "rinsed and sorted over, soaked and drained." Sometimes there are stones or damaged beans in the lot that need to be removed, so make sure you sift through and find any of those. Rinse them in a colander and then soak them in a large bowl or pot (if you look closely you can see that the beans in the picture are soaked in water). We let them soak overnight because it helps to shorten the cooking time. It is not absolutely necessary to soak them for that long so if you don't have 8+ hours, there are other methods of pre-soaking that you can find on the packaging of the red beans.

Some of the ingredients are a little odd sounding - not stuff you would normally have around the house. Ham hocks for example... what are those?! Well in the above picture, the ham hocks are picture at the bottom left on the red plate. They are known as "pork knuckles," to give you a better idea of what in the world it is. It doesn't have much edible meat on it, so it is just used to cook in the mixture for added flavor. They should be in the meat section at the grocery store - not too hard to find.

When looking for the ingredients in the grocery store, we misread the "boiled picked pork meat" as "pickled pork meat" so we left the store without any! Looking back, it seems like pulled pork would work well in this situation. However, we weren't sure what to do at the time, and my mom told us to substitute bacon. Bacon is good on everything so we were happy to oblige.

The list also calls for bell peppers, but doesn't specify which color. We are partial to red peppers to snack on at home, so that is what we chose. It was a good taste, but I wouldn't rule out the less sweet green pepper.

Instructions

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions, celery, and bell peppers to the saucepan. Season the vegetables with salt and cayenne. Saute the vegetables for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables start to wilt. Add the bay leaves, thyme, ham hocks, and pork meat (in our case, bacon) and saute for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the beans, garlic, and stock or water. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 2 hours, uncovered. Add more stock or water if the mixture becomes dry and thick. Use a wooden spoon to mash 1/4 of the mixture. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender and creamy. Add more liquid if it is too thick. The mixture should be soupy, but not watery. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. To serve ladle into bowls with rice. Garnish with green onions.

Those are the directions from Emeril Lagasse's website. When it describes the beans as being "creamy," it is a little hard to understand until you try the mixture. The beans will literally melt in your mouth once they are cooked well. This is what your finished product may look like:

Now the website says the recipe yields 8 servings.. they must be serving ogres or something. This makes a TON of servings. You would be better off freezing half of it for later or giving portions of it out to friends. It reheats really well and tastes just as great as it did fresh off of the stove.

Here is the original link from Emerils.com.