Newsies
My sister, in seeing the posts I was putting together, noted – you need something that’s not a dessert! So even though I prefer parties where all we eat is sugar, my second favorite type of parties serve Mexican food. So in honor of Jack Kelley’s desire to head to Santa Fe, I present Jack Kelly’s Santa Fe Surprise (aka a super easy “7″ layer dip).
Jack Kelly’s Santa Fe Surprise
All these ingredients make up this super tasty party food.
- 16 ounces refried beans
- 1 can of black beans
- 1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning
- 1 cup/8 oz sour cream
- 1 cup guacamole – homemade or store bought, either works! If you’ve never made guacamole, chop up avocados with some cilantro and onions and tomatoes, and mix with a bit of lemon or lime juice. Also if you buy the guacamole, I usually add some cilantro and lemon/lime juice to punch up the flavor
- 1 cup salsa – I prefer freshly made, which you can buy at most grocery stores, or you can make your own with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and peppers – chop all ingredients and mix together in a bowl, and squeeze some fresh lime on top. I recommend waiting a few minutes if you make it yourself so the flavors blend, and then adding to the dip. Otherwise a brand like Newman’s Own also works for the dip
- 1 cup shredded cheese, either cheddar or Mexican blend
- 1 or 2 chopped tomatoes (optional – either to add to the dip separately, or to use in making the salsa and/or guacamole)
- Handful of cilantro
To make, first open the can of refried beans and spread out on the bottom of the dish. You can use any pan/dish to make it in – I chose an 8 by 8 casserole dish, which will easily serve between 5-8 people.
Next, open the can of black beans and rinse the beans in a colander to get rid of the sodium residue. Spread the black beans over the refried beans in the dish.
Then, mix the sour cream with the taco seasoning in a separate bowl, and spread on top of the black beans with a knife.
Next, pour the salsa on top of the sour cream, and then add the guacamole.
I then added a handful of chopped cilantro – please note in looking at the pictures that to me there is nothing better than as much cilantro as possible on any given dish. If you or any of your guests don’t like cilantro, then either skip this step or edit it down – but my dip definitely ends up looking like a plant!
Next add handfuls of the cheese until the dip is covered – if you have any remaining ingredients, i.e. if you want to add extra chopped tomatoes, do so at this layer. I then tossed some extra cheese on top, basically as you can never have too much cheese.
Finally, I have found this amazing enchilada sauce at Trader Joe’s (in the picture above) and I add that to everything to give it a real “Santa Fe” kick. Serve with tortilla chips, and it’s ready to eat! Enjoy this dip, and enjoy celebrating Newsies on the Tonys tonight!
