Sunday, March 12, 2006

Seven Layer Dip in the Kitchen

I'm late in posting tonight because my husband and I had old friends over and it was a long evening, a nice one, but a long one.

The reaction to last week's recipe? The e-mails spoke of being thrilled to have a meal and not just a dish. Connie wrote wondering if we could have another one? We exchanged e-mails all week on this. She likes Mexican dishes. Since we can now serve an Italian meal, a Mexican meal seemed like a good idea. This will be three dishes but don't panic, one of the dishes we've already gone over.

The dish tonight would be the appetizer for the meal. However, it can be served as a stand alone snack or meal. There's no cooking involved so hopefully that will help anyone nervous over "three dishes." It's a dish known as seven layer dip. There are many recipes for it and Connie had two favorites. We're going with one because it uses refried beans. The other used a can of bean dip. For those in a hurry, you can use prepared bean dip. But in terms of nutrients and sodium, you'd be better off going with the recipe below.


LAYERED NACHO DIP
1 (16 oz.) can Old El Paso refried beans
1/2 pkg. McCormick taco seasoning mix
1 (6 oz.) carton avocado dip
1 sm. can chopped ripe olives
1 sm. can onion, finely chopped
1 sm. can Old El Paso chopped green chilies
1 (8 oz.) carton sour cream
2 tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack
Mix beans and seasoning mix. Spread bean mix in 8x12x2 inch dish. Layer remaining ingredients in order. Serve with nacho chips.

That's a very simple recipe and it's from Cooks.com. I have a recipe that I use which requires a little more work so we'll go with this one and bring up the other one at a later date. You can use low-fat or no-fat sour cream if you prefer them to regular sour cream and you don't have to use McCormick's taco seasoning mix, any taco seasoning mix can be used.

Now this would be the appetizer you'd serve to guests before a meal if you were using it as one dish in a meal. You can combine it with vegetarian enchiladas. Connie's had success with it and those who've e-mailed have as well. You could, in fact, make a meal of just the two but if you're planning to entertain, like Connie is, and wanting various dishes, we'll have a recipe up next week to complete the meal.

What will the recipe be? Connie, Wally's mother and I are trying to figure that out. There are a few simple dishes that can be made. One of which is a wonderful soup but with spring staring down on us and summer quickly to follow, we thought a hot soup would be a recipe better saved for another time of year.

Speaking of time of year, the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq is almost here. I hope you talk about the war as much to your friends as you do in the e-mails you send. The only way the war will end is if we use our voices. My husband asked Mike to post the following and I'll assume he's wishing I would as well.

"MediaChannel, UFPJ and Partners Call For National Media Action"
The national day of local media protest announced last week on MediaChannel.org has received such a positive response that the organizers of United For Peace And Justice, the country's largest anti-war coalition, decided to change the date from March 21st to March 15th. The media protest will now kickoff this years week-long "spring offensive" against the war, just before the third anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq.
Organizers were so excited about the prospect of bringing media activists and anti-war activists together, to challenge media outlets to tell the truth about the war and report on the anti-war movement, that they decided it should begin the week and not end it.
"The media helped make the war possible," charges UFPJ National Coordinator Leslie Cagan. "It's time to call for more coverage and better coverage."
The protests will also pay tribute to journalists and media workers killed in the line of fire, kidnapped, or jailed without charges. Most recently, on February 23rd an Al-Arabiya media team was gunned down in Iraq. We have to honor those who have lost their lives to get the story out.
MediaChannel.org is taking the lead in reaching out to media and peace groups to encourage a series of media actions on March 15th.
"All of us are media consumers," says MediaChannel editor Danny Schechter, "The News Dissector." "We can all take part by monitoring media coverage, writing letters and emails to media decision makers, and protesting against a pro-war media tilt in much of the coverage. If you have ever complained about the coverage, now's the time to do something by speaking up."

Hopefully, you've already seen it at the other community websites. If this is your first time seeing it, please consider taking part. If it's not for you, please find some way to make yourself heard that is.

We need to use our voices. Staying silent means giving your consent.

I spoke to Ruth this morning on the phone about her latest Ruth's Public Radio Report which I enjoyed and believe you will as well. While we were speaking, she asked if I'd noticed that I don't really spotlight Mike's writing? I hadn't noticed that. I do try not to mention him all the time because I'm sure everyone would be bored reading me going on about my son. However, I do read his site and am very proud of him. One of his best things was this Friday, so I'll recommend that you read "Guantanamo, Spying and why it's important to get the word out ."

Also let me say thank you to C.I. Everyone's working on the latest edition of The Third Estate Sunday Review right now. Mike came downstairs with his cell phone and handed it to me. C.I. was wondering if I had any problems because I hadn't posted? I was just late in starting tonight; however, since I had C.I. on the phone, I asked for help with some links for the list of suggested sites on the left. I'd been meaning to add Democracy Now! for some time and I also added two other sites as well. I know they're all busy and trying hard to finish as quickly as possible. I also wouldn't dream of asking Mike because I'd feel like I was putting him on the spot. But since C.I. was on the phone and asking about my site, I didn't feel too bad getting a walk through on how to do the links.











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