Barbara Day 2013: The Famous Mexican Dip

I'm so happy I decided to start the idea of Barbara Day. On August 17, what would have been Mom's 65th birthday, we celebrated her. Not just me and Gus but so many people. I was really touched to hear about her friends toasting her, or making her cookies, or my dad's side of the family having a nice time reminiscing about all the things she used to make.

Gus treated me to some beautiful surprise lillies in honor of her and we promptly watched an entire season of The Golden Girls.

One thing I hadn't expected to do was inspired by my cousin's, my mom's nieces on both sides. Both of them independently said they always thought about the Mexican dip that she used to make for parties. This is one of those things I had completely forgotten about. When I went to her special recipe box, sure enough - there it was - the first recipe in the stack: Mexican Dip.

And here it is for you in her beautiful handwriting, to make and think of Mom, or of someone special in your life that knows how to make a mean bean dip.

Ingredients (Annie's version)

• 2 cans of refried beans
• 1/2 a packet of mild taco seasoning (Mom's version calls for the whole packet)
• 1 clove garlic
• Dash of salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper
• 1/2 jar of your favorite salsa (Ours was Trader Joe's Roasted Garlic Chipotle Salsa)
• 1 15oz container of sour cream
• 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 325F and stir the beans together with the taco seasoning, garlic, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a small bowl. 
2. Layer into a 9x13 pan (we did ours more shallow and put it in two pans, it's your preference).
3. Top with salsa, coating all of the bean layer.
4. Top with the sour cream, covering all the salsa.
5. Then finally, top with the shredded cheese goodness and toss in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Feel free to throw under the broiler for a few minutes to get some nice color on top.
6. Serve warm with tortilla chips. Also a great snack cold.. it's really up to you and your love of mexican dip.

Thanks for the inspiration Mom.