7 Layer Dip Recipe

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A party favorite of mine is 7 Layer Dip. Granted mine has eight layers, sometimes nine but 7 layer dip sounds better than nine layer dip to me.

Here is what is needed, but amount depends upon how big of a plate you’re putting it on.

  1. Refried Beans
  2. Guacamole 
  3. Sour Cream
  4. Salsa, I like to use mild
  5. Tomatoes, chopped
  6. Green Onions chopped
  7. Ground beef with taco seasoning (sometimes I omit this)
  8. Shredded Cheese, I prefer cheddar and more specifically a blend of mild and sharp cheddar
  9. Cilantro, chopped

On a plate spread and layer each ingredient in order as it is listed above. Serve with a bag of tortilla chips.

Enjoy!


fried chicken

How to Make Fried Chicken Bites

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I love fried foods. As I’ve said before, I don’t own a frier because that would be so bad for me. But sometimes I just need some fried chicken. Is that just me? I made fried chicken bites for dinner and I thought I’d share.

I think my version is pretty easy. It can be a bit messy though. This time I used breadcrumbs I made from a loaf of bread from Panera, but I have used Panko and Progresso breadcrumbs as well as crushed Ritz crackers. I think I actually prefer the Ritz with some seasoning mixed into them and mixed into the flour/cornstarch bowl.

I could have left the chicken in bigger pieces or in stripes for chicken fingers but I like to chop it into smaller pieces because it cooks faster. Also, since it is the same thickness I don’t have to worry as much about some parts of the chicken being cooked and other parts still being raw.

For this recipe, the amount of everything depends upon how much you want to make. I was frying two chicken tender strips.

Ingredients:

  • boneless, skinless, chicken chopped up into bite sized pieces
  • corn starch
  • all-purpose flour
  • milk
  • egg
  • breadcrumbs
  • oil

1. In a small sauce pan, pour oil, I used canola, enough to make it about an inch or more deep. Again this depends upon your amount of chicken you’re frying.

2. Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces

3. In a bowl, mix 3 parts flour to 1 part cornstarch.  The cornstarch helps everything stick to the chicken better as opposed to just flour.

4. In another bowl, with a fork, whisk 1 egg with 1/4 cup milk

5. In yet another bowl have a lot of breadcrumbs.

fried chicken

The order is going right to left because my saucepan is to the left of the breadcrumbs and yes my counter is that tiny!

6. Now, coat in the flour, dunk in the egg wash, and cover with breadcrumbs the pieces of chicken.

7. Carefully drop the chicken in the oil to fry or else the oil could splash up.

fried chicken

cooking in oil

Now my chicken wasn’t completely submerged in the oil, so I let it cook to a golden brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes and flipped them over with my tongs so the other side could fry an get a golden brown color as well.

7. With a slotted spoon, remove the fried chicken bites.

fried chicken

Yum!

Now it’s time to enjoy the fried deliciousness. I prefer to dip mine in a ketchup ranch combo. Am I the only one who does that?

I know the coat, dunk, and coat mixtures work pretty well for fried pickles too. I wonder if they work for cheese balls. I need to try it because I am missing some Culver’s cheese curds.


guacamole recipe

My Guacamole Recipe

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guacamole recipeOne thing I love is chips and dip, especially tortilla chips and guacamole! But I find it difficult to find good guacamole at grocery stores. One time I accidentally bought guacamole flavored dip! So it wasn’t real! It was full of randomness and things I couldn’t pronounce that didn’t need to eat. I made it a mission to make my own. Here is the guacamole recipe that I came up with, with the help of my husband. 🙂

Ingredients:

  • avocados
  • tomato, chopped and without seeds
  • onion, chopped
  • cilantro, chopped
  • juice of half of a lime
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper

Directions:

  1. Peel, remove seeds, and mash avocados in a small to medium bowl
  2. add tomato, onion, cilantro, olive oil and lime juice to avocado and mix
  3. season with salt and pepper and stir into dip

I usually do 2 large ripe avocados, if they’re still hard, it’s difficult to make dip, so go for the ones that are a bit mushy. I also use one roma tomato, half of a small red onion and a handful of cilantro before it’s chopped. But the amount of all of the ingredients completely depends on your own taste and the amount you want to make.