Awesome Avocado Dip

You know how Mexican restaurants always serve chips and salsa while you’re waiting for your food to come out? Well, awhile back, I went to a place that served a delicious green dip along with the salsa. It was tangy and creamy and I loved it. I swore I was going to figure out how to make my own. Well, I have finally gotten around to it.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• 1 medium avocado
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup green taco sauce
• 1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Handful of cilantro leaves 

This recipe is so quick and simple, you are going to love it. First up, the avocado. Cut it in half around the pit. Then to remove that, tap it firmly with your knife to embed the edge of the blade.

Then just twist gently and it should come right out.

The pit is super slippery, so to get it off of the knife, wrap it in a paper towel and it should pull off pretty easily.

It isn’t strictly necessary, but I like to cut the avocado into little cubes before it goes into the blender so you don’t end up with a big chunk of it hiding under the blade. Using your knife, carefully slice it right inside its shell.

Scoop or squeeze the cubes into your blender.

Next up, the lime juice. Mine was really juicy, so I actually only ended up just using half. You’re shooting for about 1 Tablespoon of juice.

After that, add the salt.

I like La Victoria’s green taco sauce. I’m sure any kind of green salsa will work just fine if you’d prefer.

My sour cream was a bit of a heaping measure. As I’m sure you’ve guessed, this is not rocket science.

Last is the cilantro. I know there are some serious cilantro haters out there, so if you’re one of them, go ahead and leave it out. Personally, I love the stuff. It’s strong though, so a little goes a long way. Shoot for something like this.

Throw that into the blender.

Now, just add 2 Tablespoons of water, and that’s it!

Start the blender at a low speed and slowly increase it.

In probably 30 seconds, you’ll have a dip that is amazingly delicious!

And the cool thing is, unlike guacamole, which turns brown in almost not time, this dip stays a nice, bright green for days in the fridge. It’s fantastic!

What is your favorite thing to do with avocados?

Crispy Crunchy Beef and Bean Burritos

It’s amazing what a difference a short stay in the oven can make.  Feed your family regular beef and bean burritos and you’ll get, “Meh.”  But make the burritos crispy on the outside and, “OMG these are good!  Can I have another?”  You’ll definitely want to add this to your easy dinner repertoire.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• ½ lb. ground beef
• ½ onion, minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 can (16 oz.) refried beans
• ¼ cup taco sauce
• 1 cup grated cheese
• Tortillas
• Canola oil 

In a pan over medium heat, combine the beef, onion, salt, pepper, and chili powder.  I actually substituted dried minced onion for the fresh because I was feeling lazy. Either will work fine. 

When the meat is chopped up and mixed with the spices and onion, put a lid on for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice.  While it’s cooking, put the beans into a bowl and add the taco sauce.  I like La Victoria, but use whatever brand and heat level is your favorite. 

Stir those together. 

After 10 minutes, return to the meat.  Make sure it’s in fairly small pieces. 

Add the beef to the bean mixture. 

Stir that in.  (I know, this isn’t the most photogenic food ever.)

Add the cheese.

Stir. 

And now for the fun part.  Wait, first you need to preheat your oven to 375°.  Then, line a sheet pan with parchment and lay out a tortilla.  Mine were quite pliable, but if you’re worried yours might crack, just heat them for a few seconds in the microwave. 

Spoon on a bit of the meat/bean mixture.  It depends on the size of your tortillas, but I used probably about ⅓ cup in each one.  Don’t get too carried away or you’ll have oozing burritos before you’re done. 

Wrap the edge around and fold it under itself. 

Fold in the ends.

Then just roll it over and gently flatten.  Voilá! Err… ¡Ahí está! Beautifully rolled burrito.

This is easily enough filling for 8 burritos.  I only made 4 and saved the rest of the filling to use in a day or two.  This is also a small sheet pan, so you should be able to fill 8 burritos and fit them all on one regular sized sheet pan. 

Now here's the secret for making them crispy.  Drizzle on a tiny bit of canola oil.  Think ¼ teaspoon or less per burrito. 

Rub it around with your fingers to cover the entire surface of the burrito.  I prefer using my fingers over a pastry brush for this because it’s easier to get a very light coating, which is what we’re shooting for. 

See?  Nice and shiny, but just barely coated. 

Bake at 375° for 20 minutes.  They’ll be just starting to brown on top. 

Flip them over. 

Then back into the oven for another 10 minutes.  They should be nice and brown now. 

Crispy burrito goodness.  I’m pretty sure ovens are magic. 

What easy weeknight meal would you like to see have a facelift?