Seven Layer Dip

Nothing beats a good seven layer dip at a summer gathering. Everyone will gather around the dip and enjoy good conversation, interspersed with exclamations of, "I can't stop eating this dip!" and "This stuff is amazing!" This is always my experience with seven layer dip. It is definitely a crowd pleaser. Plus, it is super easy to make. Sometimes I make a simplified version (pictured above) if I don't have everything on hand, which is still delicious.

Seven Layer Dip

2 avocados - peeled, pitted and diced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup salsa
garlic salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
4 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
2 cups shredded Mexican-style cheese blend
1 (2.25 ounce) can black olives - drained and sliced

In a medium bowl, mash the avocados. Mix in lime juice, cilantro, salsa, garlic salt and pepper.
In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and taco seasoning.
In a 9x13 inch dish or on a large serving platter, spread the refried beans. Top with sour cream mixture. Spread on guacamole. Top with tomatoes, green onions, Mexican-style cheese blend and black olives.
Devour with tortilla chips.

Evidence of good times surrounding seven layer dip:

Strawberry Watermelon Lemonade

Sara fell in love with this refreshing summer beverage at a sandwich shop in Chelsea, so much that she looked up the recipe online so we could recreate it at home. I am so glad she did, because it is so easy and so delicious. And it just tastes like summer. The flavors of the watermelon, strawberry and lemon are very well balanced. Serve it chilled for the perfect summer treat. You will love it!

Strawberry Watermelon Lemonade

4 cups cubed seeded watermelon
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, halved
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup water
3-4 ice cubes

Combine everything in blender and blend until smooth. Serve chilled.

Recipe found on Allrecipes, copycat of a drink from Bottino.

Perfect Pizza Crust

I have used a couple pizza crust recipes, but this one is far and away my favorite. I love it. It's so easy to make, and so easy to work with, and it tastes great. I love that I have the option to freeze some for a quick weeknight dinner later on if I want. It's the best.

Perfect Pizza Crust

For the crust:
½ cup warm water
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1½ tsp. salt
1¼ cup water, at room temperature
2 tbsp. olive oil

Measure the 1/2 cup warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend. Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture. With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast-water mixture as well as the olive oil. Mix until a cohesive dough is formed. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.

Press down the dough to deflate it. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball. 

(If desired, wrap one of the balls of dough in plastic wrap, put in a freezer bag and freeze for later. When it's time to use the frozen dough, put it in the fridge in the morning, then take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you're ready to use it.) 

Cover ball of dough with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 500° F. Sprinkle a large baking sheet lightly with cornmeal or lay down a piece of parchment paper to prevent dough from sticking. On a countertop lightly dusted with flour, gently roll out the pizza dough into a large circle, leaving a thicker ring around the edge for the crust. (If the dough doesn't want to stretch and roll out, let it rest for a few minutes and come back to it. If it's been frozen and thawed, it's a little harder to work with, but letting it rest a bit usually helps make it more workable.) Carefully transfer the dough to the baking sheet (on top of the parchment paper or dusted cornmeal) and top with toppings and cheese as desired. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and browned. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Makes two medium pizzas.

Recipe from Annie's Eats.

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I've seen these taquitos posted on a few different recipe blogs recently, and after hearing everyone rave about them I had to try them. They were so great! We liked these so much, they made it into the regular rotation. I loved how the subtle flavors of the cilantro, lime, and spices mixed so well. Definitely a dish we would make again and again. Try them, you'll love them!

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 cup (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup salsa
1Tbs fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced {1 tsp jarred minced garlic}
3 Tbs chopped cilantro
2 green onions, sliced
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated pepperjack cheese {or cheddar, monterey jack, etc}

12-16 small flour tortillas {you could use corn but we like flour!}
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix softened cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and minced garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Be sure not to over-fill as the chicken mixture will expand and bubble during baking. Then roll it up as tight as you can. {If using corn tortillas, heat in the microwave to make them more pliable before rolling.} Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle some kosher salt on top. Place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, or guacamole.

Makes 12-16.

Recipe from my sister-in-law Michelle, originally from Our Best Bites.

Tomato Feta Tartlets

I was asked to post the recipe for the tomato tartlets shown in the photo with this Tomato Basil Bisque. They were, in fact, delicious, and I can't believe I forgot to post the recipe before! Thanks Emily for the request.

These tartlets looked and tasted fancy but were in fact, super easy. All thanks to a magical ingredient called puff pastry. If you haven't been introduced to puff pastry yet, do yourself a favor and buy some. It is amazing stuff! It will change your life! Chicken pot pie, apple tarts, tomato-feta tartlets... and a million other possibilities. The stuff is flaky and buttery and pretty and so easy to use. You'll feel like a cooking goddess for making something that tastes so fancy.

Tomato Feta Tartlets

1 sheet puff pastry dough
1 small onion
1-2 tsp olive oil
1 plum or roma tomato
½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
fresh basil, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice onion. Over medium-low heat, sauté onion in olive oil until caramelized, about 20 minutes. While onions caramelize, slice tomato and cut circular pieces of pastry by running a knife around the edge of a small bowl or plate. When onions are done, place about one tablespoon on each pastry round, followed by crumbled feta, then 1 or 2 tomato slices, and sprinkle parmesan on top. Sprinkle a little basil on top. Bake for 25 minutes.

Makes 4-5 tartlets.

Recipe from my good friend Alexa.

Chicken Ranch Pizza

Lately I haven't made a whole lot of new recipes. I'm still cooking a lot, I've just been making tried and true favorites from my files (this blog). I feel like I should apologize for not posting anything new. But if you're anything like me, you can still make good use of this blog and all that the archives have to offer.

Anyway, I made something new today! I decided to try a new recipe for pizza dough and the one from Annie's Eats looked and sounded amazing. I was excited to try it out since she suggests freezing the dough for later use (which I did, and it worked wonderfully). I actually made the dough earlier this week while my husband was working late and I had extra time on my hands. Usually I'm in such a hurry to get dinner ready that I wouldn't use a recipe that requires the dough to rise for 2 hours. But making this ahead of time and freezing it for when I needed it was the perfect solution. I just took it out of the freezer in the morning for dinner that night.

This dough was really simple but yielded awesome results. Annie did a whole post all about pizza, and I found her tips extremely helpful in making my pizza so much better. Short of buying a scale and measuring my ingredients by weight, I followed all her instructions and my pizza turned out amazing! I will be using this dough for all my pizza from now on.

Chicken Ranch Pizza

For the crust:
½ cup warm water
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1½ tsp. salt
1¼ cup water, at room temperature
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

For the toppings:
¼ cup Ranch dressing
¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½-1 grilled chicken breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 tomato, seeded and diced
2-3 green onions, chopped
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the bread flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend. Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture. With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast-water mixture as well as the olive oil. Mix until a cohesive dough is formed. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.

Press down the dough to deflate it. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball. Wrap one of the balls of dough in plastic wrap, put in a freezer bag and freeze for later. (When it's time to use the frozen dough, put it in the fridge in the morning, then take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you're ready to use it.) Cover ball of dough with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven and a pizza stone to 500° F. Allow the stone to heat for at least 30 minutes. In the mean time, cut a round of parchment paper the size of your pizza stone. (Alternatively, use a pizza peel.) Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal or semolina flour. Gently roll out the pizza dough into a large circle, leaving a thicker ring around the edge for the crust. Brush crust with olive oil to help it brown while baking. Spread the Ranch dressing in a thin layer evenly over the unbaked crust. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Top with grilled chicken, tomato and green onions. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar. Once assembled, carefully transfer the parchment round and pizza to the preheated baking stone and return to the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and browned. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Makes one medium pizza.

Recipe from Annie's Eats.