Bean Dip

When my aunty asked me to bring an appetizer, specifically a bean dip to our family dinner this weekend my immediate response was an enthusiastic "sure"! What I didn't realize until after I hung up the phone was that I wasn't sure what kind of bean dip she wanted me to make. I decided to let my imagination run wild. I checked my fridge and freezer to check my inventory and after pulling a guacamole from the freezer, headed to the grocery store. I wandered the fresh produce isle, meandered through the Mexican isle and ended my trip at the dairy isle. I took a side trip to the meat store and headed home. Now where to start? I got my serving dish out, pulled my frying pan from it's hiding place in the oven, selected a good chopping knife and got to work. My idea was to make this a spectacular bean dip and as I started I even danced around the kitchen singing a made up song about my dip.... I can just imagine what I looked like. Diced onions began softening in my pan and I added the fresh ground beef. If you haven't bought ground beef from a fresh meat shop you don't know what you're missing, the flavour and quality is sooooo much better than your run of the mill grocery chain meat. I added my taco seasoning and a small can of diced green chilies to the mix and topped it off with a large can of refried beans. Once I had it just right I scooped this mixture into my dish and topped it with cheddar/mozza grated cheese. I could have stopped there, after all it was now a bean dip but what kind of food enthusiast would I be if I didn't "kick it up a notch". I have obviously watched to much food TV! I debated my options and decided that a good organic salsa would be my next layer followed by a layer of the guacamole. I added chopped red pepper, green onions and fresh cilantro. As we had a bit of a trek to the family gathering I decided to leave the sour cream off until I was to serve it. I'm not sure how it tastes but it smells awesome so I'll have to wait and see.