Seven-Layer Dip {Secret Recipe Club}

Seven-Layer Dip, a Crowd-Pleaser

This is my second month joining in on the fun with the Secret Recipe Club, created by Amanda of Amanda's Cookin. This month there are over 100 food bloggers participating in the Secret Recipe Club. The idea behind this club is to give bloggers the chance to try each other's recipes without the other bloggers knowing it until everyone posts their results.

This month I was assigned Mary of Giving Up On Perfect, where Mary blogs about life - "sometimes funny, occasionally deep, always real." Mary likes to talk about "family, faith, books, diet-friendly and fiber-filled foods like granola bars and nachos (what?), celebrity-look-alikes and my favorite TV shows."

As I read through Mary's blog, I noticed a few similarities between the two of us - we both married young (she married her high school sweetheart and I married my freshman college sweetheart); she had a premature delivery (my twins were born 11 weeks premature); and we both have a strong Christian faith.

Although Mary does post recipes on her blog (she loves Mexican food, especially anything with a tortilla!), she writes on a variety of topics, including parenting, christianity, work, and compassion. For this month's Secret Recipe Club, I decided to make Mary's Seven Layer Dip, the perfect appetizer for a big party. 

Easy Dips, like bean dips and layered dips, are especially popular during the summer for casual barbeques and get togethers. I've made different versions of 7-Layer Dip in the past, but haven't made it in a while. With one of my son's baseball season ending, our team had a end-of-season celebration, so I couldn't think of a better appetizer to bring for a large crowd. Whether you call it Mexican dip, taco dip, bean layer dip, or 7-Layer Dip, this layered dip is a winner every time.

I made a few adjustments to the layers in this Seven Layer Dip, mainly to suit the taste of a younger crowd.

Seven-Layer Dip

From Mary's Giving Up On Perfect with a few minor swaps. 

Printable Recipe

Seven-Layer Dip Ingredients:

• 1 can (fat free) refried beans
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced
• 1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt 
• 1-2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• Simple Guacamole (see below)
• 1 cup low-fat shredded cheese
• pickled sliced jalapeno peppers

Simple Guacamole Ingredients:

• 1 avocado
• juice of 1 lime
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Spread the refried beans in a pie plate.
2. Layer tomatoes and onions on top. 
3. Mix Greek yogurt with 1 tablespoon taco seasoning and spread on top. 
4. To make Simple Guacamole, mash avocado, lime juice and a little salt together until smooth. Spread on top.
5. Sprinkle cheese on top. 
6. Top with jalapeno peppers. 
7. Serve with tortilla chips.

Mashing avocado, lime juice and a little salt together makes a Simple Guacamole