Homemade 8 Layer Dip

Gord invited some friends over on Saturday to our place for a BBQ so I decided to put together a 7 layer dip and ended up with an extra layer making it an 8 layer dip!  I haven't made 7 layer dip in years but I happened to have all the ingredients so it was an easy one to put together!  

I learned how to make 7 layer dip when I was a teen working at our local Grocery Store Deli.  not that it's difficult but the Taco Sauce is really what makes the Dip great in my opinion and I learned that trick there!  Basically we would take a packet of taco seasoning and mix it with sour cream to make the taco sauce for the 7 layer dips the store sold.  But for mine I just used a few scoops of my Homemade Taco Seasoning and it worked perfectly!  

If you haven't tried making your own Taco Seasoning I highly recommend it.  In our house we go through a lot of Taco Seasoning, so I found we always needed lots of packets on hand when I purchased it.  And it seemed as though we were always out!  So Gord and I started making our own and couldn't believe how EASY it was!  Plus you are in control of how much Salt and other ingredients go into it.  I just add all the spices into a Mason Jar, screw on a lid and give it a shake.  Done!  

Homemade 8 Layer Dip

Ingredients 

Organic re-fried beans

Taco sauce 

Guacamole

Sour cream 

Chopped Tomatoes

Sliced black Olives

Chives

Grated Cheese

Directions

• Spread out re-fried beans to the bottom of a dish. 
• Combine 1/2 cup sour cream with 2 TBSP Homemade Taco Seasoning to make Taco Sauce. 
• Spread Taco Sauce on top of beans. 
• Mash 1 avocado with 1 TBSP sour cream or Greek yogurt, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp Sea salt, 1/4 tsp curry powder. Mash together to make guacamole. 
• Spread guacamole onto taco sauce and top with a layer of plain sour cream. 
• Top with chopped tomatoes, sliced black olives, chives and grated cheese.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Taco Sauce using Homemade Taco Seasoning and Sour Cream!

Homemade Taco Pizza Rolls

I found this yummy looking recipe on the old del paso website and knew right away that I had to try making these cute little Taco Pizza Rolls!  Gord and the Boys would all love them AND they would make a great appetizer idea for potlucks and Christmas gatherings this year! 

But the recipe called for store bought Taco seasoning and pillsbury pizza dough.... Ummm NO!  I think I'll use my own Homemade Taco Seasoning and Homemade Pizza dough too! 

Much healthier that way.  

I know what your thinking.... Pizza dough, I don't have time to make my own pizza dough!  But I ask you.... do you have a pillsbury pizza dough in your fridge right now?  If the answer is no then you are better off making your own than driving to the store to get one.  PLUS it will be way healthier for you and you will know what's in it!

You will need a bread machine for my recipe, but if you don't have a bread machine you may need to do a little kneading and let it rise in a warm spot.  You can Find my Bread Machine Pizza dough Recipe here!

Taco Pizza Rolls Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 lb Ground beef
1 Pizza dough recipe
2 TBSP Taco Seasoning
3 TBSP water
2 Cups White Cheddar Cheese

*Optional Toppings: Lettuce, tomato, sour cream, onion, guacamole.

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 ° and lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray
• In a medium skillet, cook and brown beef until no longer pink. Drain. Add taco seasoning and water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
• Take Pizza dough out of the machine or package and place onto a flat surface. Slightly roll or press the pizza dough out into a rectangle.

• Sprinkle the cheese evenly onto the pizza dough. Add the taco meat evenly on top of the cheese.

Add the cheese

Add your ground meat

Pinch the ends to ensure the
roll stays together.

• Starting with the long edge of the pizza dough, roll dough tightly up into a roll.

Ready for the Oven!

• Using a serrated knife, make about 1-inch slices along the roll, making about 18 rolls.

• Place rolls onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

All done!  Don't they look good!?

• Serve Immediately and top with desired toppings!

I topped mine with a little sour cream,
tomato and green onion!  YUM

Additional Recipes

Taco seasoning recipe

1/2 cup Chili Powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1/8 cup cumin
1 TBSP Garlic powder
1 TBSP paprika
1TBSP sea salt

Add all spices into a mason jar, screw lid on tight and give it a shake!  Done.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

I haven't purchased taco seasoning from a package in years.  It all started when Gord and I wanted to make nachos one night and we had no seasoing mix in the cupboard. So he googled the recipe for Taco Seasoing and we made a batch of it.  For a while after that we still purchased the seasoning packets here and there but if we ran out we would just make up another batch. 

Once I started really started reading ingredients labels and becoing more concerned with what was in our food I switched us over to our home made seasoing and we haven't looked back.

Because there are some ingredience in a package of Old Del Paso Taco Seasoning that I can't pronounce and there are preservatives and anti Caking agents so it's not something that will be going into my body or my families bodies either!

Ingredients in Old Del Paso Low Sodium Taco Seasoning
Maltodextrin, Chili Pepper, Onion Powder, Corn Starch, Garlic Powder, Spice. Contains less than 2% of: Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Yeast Extract, Silicon Dioxide (anticaking agent), Sunflower and/or Cottonseed Oil, Spice Extractive, Ethoxyquin (preservative)


My Taco seasoning recipe

1/2 cup Chili Powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1/8 cup cumin
1 TBSP Garlic powder
1 TBSP paprika
1TBSP sea salt

With my Taco Seasoning recipe, we just put all the spices into a mason jar and give it a shake. The recipe is taped to the outside of the jar so I can refer to it easily when we need to remake it.

Our family loves most any tex mex type recipe so we go through a lot of Taco Seasoning that's for sure!  On the menu this week was a  Yummy One Pan Burrito Bowl and Oh my gosh was it yummy and made great left overs for lunches too!!! 

Camping Trip!!

We are heading out on our first camping of the year!

Instead of shopping for marshmallows, hot dogs and candy!  We stocked up on Nuts, dried fruit and of course brought along our shakes.  But I also made a few standard mixes for our trailer.

The first mix I made is my taco seasoning!  I can't buy or use that packaged stuff and making a batch is a breeze.

Taco seasoning recipe

1/2 cup Chili Powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1/8 cup cumin
1 TBSP Garlic powder
1 TBSP paprika
1TBSP sea salt

At home I always have the recipe for it taped to the outside of the jar so making another batch is super quick and easy!

The next mix I made to keep in the trailer is my pancake mix.  It's too easy!

I just mix the flour and the baking powder together in the jar and then on a label I write what amounts of what need to go into it for one cup of mix.  This is what we do at home as well... and for some reason even though it's just mixing the flour and the baking powder together it makes it so much easier to have it mixed and ready to go.  Probably because we don't have to pull out the recipe book to make it since the instructions are taped to the outside of the container!

Recipe for our Best Ever Homemade Pancakes and Waffles

2 cups Whole Wheat flour
1 1/2 TBSP Baking powder

2 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup oil or melted butter
2 tsp vanilla


I will admit we did purchase a few dairy free dark chocolate bars and a bag of Avacado oil potato chips since I'm sure there will be some snacking around the campfire going on.  But both of these treats are healthy options compared to the typical Ruffles and Reece cups in the chip and junk isle!

Wish us sunny weather!