Taco Dip ~ The Secret Recipe Club

Here we are again -the third Monday of the month.
I just cannot believe how very fast the weeks go by.
My daughters have finished their year at college and my son will finish his sophomore year of high school on Thursday.
This. Year. FLEW!

How 'bout you, do you think it's gone by fast?

We've been busy the last week with getting the girls organized here at home, work...
AND we have a new family addition.

I am IN LOVE with that little black nose and his puppy breath!!

Oh, and those EYES!!!

Yes, his name is Keiser and he is a 9 week old Golden Retriever. He is absolutely one of the cutest things I've ever seen. And the best part?
He gets along famously with our almost 9 year old Golden, Brady.
They are spitting images of each other and love, love LOVE to play tug of war with Brady's rope toy.
Who needs TV when you can just watch the dogs play together?!

So, back to the post. Otherwise I'll be talking about the puppy ALL day...

Every third Monday of the month Group C of the Secret Recipe Club has its' reveal day.

This means that every member of the group finally gets to post what recipe they chose from the blog that we were assigned earlier in the month.

It's based on Secret Santa and it is SO much fun!! If you're interested, you should check it out and request to join!

Our group leader is Debbi of Debbi Does Dinner... Healthy & Low Calorie and the head of the entire gang is April from Angel's Homestead. They aren't the only two who do a lot of work - there are quite a few women who make sure things run smoothly every month and they ALL deserve a BIG thank you!!!!

Now onto the exciting stuff!!

For the month of May, I was assigned to...

Christine's Kitchen Chronicles

She has A LOT of recipes to choose from on her blog, so I had absolutely NO trouble searching for something the family would like. The only problem was, after I narrowed it down to about three, I had trouble choosing between those. haha. 

Let's see, there was Christine's Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Cake, her Peanut Butter Cookies with Salted Peanut Caramel (the family was REALLY disappointed I didn't make these, so I promised them I'd do it another time), and the incredible looking Apple Pie Cookies! I really had a craving for some desserts, can you tell?

In the end though I decided that since I don't have a recipe for a dip / appetizer thingy here at 365, it would be best if I made Christine's Taco Dip. And it really was a no-brainer since the family is NUTS about tacos and chips! YAY, Me!!

It was simple, quick, and well, you'll read my rating after the recipe. 

I didn't change a thing, but I did leave out the olives. There's only one person in the family who will eat them and sorry Mr. 365, but garnishing the dish with a whole bunch of olives just for you ain't worth my picking 'em all off, so I can enjoy it, too. I did however place the jalapenos over the whole thing as opposed to just on half as I had originally planned. So, I do consider that in that case, I took one for the team.

Capiche?

Taco Dip -makes one 9-inch pie plate full

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef

1 package taco seasoning OR my Homemade Taco Seasoning (I would have used this, but I didn't have any more on hand)

1 15 ounce can refried beans

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 cup shredded Mexican Blend Cheese

1 tomato, diced

jalapeno slices to taste

chopped red onion

black olives (if desired)

tortilla chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare a pie plate by spraying it with cooking spray.

Brown the ground beef in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.

Drain the fat and add the packet of taco seasoning. Cook according to directions. Let cool slightly.
Spread the refried beans on the bottom of the pie plate.
Completely cover with seasoned ground beef.
Spread with sour cream.
Evenly distribute shredded cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and everything is heated through.

Top with desired remaining ingredients.

Cover completely with the tacoed (my new word) ground beef.

Spread the sour cream on top of the beef.

Top it off with the shredded cheese.

I rate everything I make on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Taco Dip earned 4 rolling pins!

It was fabulous, easy and quick to make.

This will be a great thing to make not only as an appetizer, but on a weeknight when I'm working late and need something quick for dinner.

OR if I need a 16 year old boy to make dinner when I'm on my way home!  

(wink, wink)

Be sure to check out Christine's blog and all of the other fantastic recipes my fellow bloggers have made from their assigned blogs!

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!