Southwestern Layer Dip

When it’s too hot to cook, try this dish of deliciousness for dinner 

It’s got allll the flavors and textures going on in each bite. We devour it with blue corn chips. Mmm, such a treat.

Heathy twists on the old classic:

• Use greek yogurt in place of sour cream.

• Look for canned fat-free refried beans to avoid any questionable oils. The ingredients are literally “beans, salt, spices”. You can find them at most grocery stores right along with the other cans of refried beans.

• I also add leftover chopped roasted or grilled chicken for a good dose of protein.

Okay - here’s your starter recipe. It’s a super flexible kind of dish, use as much or little of each ingredient as you like. Omit things you don’t care for, add others you like better!

Arrange layers of the following in a 9” round, deep pie dish (or any other similar size dish) :

• 1/2 can fat free refried beans (freeze the other half for a future batch)

• 1 cup plain greek yogurt

• 1 cup fresh guacamole (store bought works great)

• 1 cup diced cooked chicken (leftover rotisserie or grilled chicken)

• 1 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar 

• chopped fresh tomatoes

• diced red onion

• sliced black olives

• chopped fresh cilantro

• try adding red or green bell pepper, minced fresh jalapeño, grilled corn, hot sauce…

You can make it a few hours ahead, cover well, and keep it in the fridge. You’ll be so happy to have a cool, creamy, crunchy, juicy, satisfying dinner ready to enjoy at the end of a long, hot summer day!