Dips: It Takes One to Know One

So while walking with the class the other week, I turned my ankle and fell to the ground in grand fashion! We were only half way to our destination so I pried myself up off the concrete, looked around to see how many students saw and kept walking with the one student who happened to be walking with me.  It was slow going that last 1.5km.  We were heading to the movies.  There is a second run cheapie movie theatre a mere 3km from school so it is a popular spot for June field trips as we can easily walk there.  Once we made it to the mall, the student and I stopped at the pharmacy to pick up some first aid supplies to clean up my knee then met the rest of the class to watch "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2" That movie was great. I truly enjoyed it!  One of the teachers was kind and drove me back to the school after.  Lots of ice, x-rays, and a couple of physiotherapy visits later, it is merely a really bad sprain....we're talking lower ankle, upper ankle, hurts from ankle to knee at times!!! ACK!! The best part (see the sarcasm) is the bruising.  I am fair skinned and bruises show up oh so nicely....it really does look way worse than it feels....I hope!

I figure no one wants to see ugly ankle pictures so let's get on with the grub!
In our venture to eat healthier we have become dippy with dip!  To be more specific, hummus and tzatziki!  Both hummus and tzatziki are such simple dips and a great way to add some flavour to your veggies, sandwiches, wraps, or whatever it is you want to use them on.  Keep a bin or a zippy top bag filled with cut and ready to go veggies in the fridge and you are set for lunches, snacks, even dinners!
I even made some fresh pita.  After reading this post here at A Little bit of everything, I just had to make it! I haven't made the roasted veggie dip yet, but I plan to!

A few simple ingredients is all it takes!!

Tzatziki (reminds me of my trip to Greece!)  Printable dip recipes

1/2 long English cucumber
1 cup Greek style plain yogurt
1 clove garlic (chopped fine or grated with a micro plane)
salt & pepper
1 tsp lemon zest (optional)

Grate the cucumber.  If your yogurt isn't very thick, squeeze out the excess liquid.  The PC Greek style yogurt at Superstore is so incredibly thick, I didn't drain the cucumber.

Grate in the garlic, lemon zest (if using), and add the salt and pepper.
Stir in the yogurt.  (Use your judgement here.  If the amount of yogurt doesn't cover all of the cucumber, then add more yogurt.  Consistency is really up to you!)

Let the tzatziki rest in the fridge for a while before eating...if you can wait.

Serve up with pitas, veggies, on sammies, in wraps, by the spoonful....

Hummus (unfortunately I can not find the pics I took of the hummus. I will post them when I find them, or make more and take new photos!)

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 or 2 cloves garlic
1 to 2 tbsp tahini or peanut butter (optional)
cayenne (pinch or to taste)
1 jalapeno
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
water to thin out if you don't want to use too much oil

Toss everything but the olive oil and water into a blender or food processor.  With the machine running, drizzle in olive oil.  If you are skeptical about using too much olive oil, switch to drizzling in water.  Keep the machine and the liquid drizzling until you reach the consistency you want.  Some people prefer a thick dip and others prefer a thinner dip.
Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.  (Remember, it is easier to add flavour and heat than it is to take it away!!)

Until next time, stay warm and eat well. (And stay on your feet!)

Dreamy Nathan Fillion's 7 Layer Bean Dip

The other night while I was watching the Canadian World Junior hockey team skate their way out of a gold medal, I was blogging, typing, and monitoring the Twitter machine. (I know, only a little bit nerdy, right? We were loosing horribly so what else was I to do?)  It just so happens that Dreamy Nathan Fillion (insert dreamy sigh here....you may remember him from such shows as Two guys, a Girl, and a Pizza place, Firefly, Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, and of course, Castle) was also on the Twitter machine that evening.  In a series of tweets, Dreamy Mr. Fillion (insert dreamy sigh here) managed to give out the recipe to his famous 7 layer bean dip.  Famous because he mentions (nay, sings about) this dip in the commentary for Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog.

The entire house is pretty much hooked on all things Nathan Fillion....I am however still waiting for closure on the whole "Drive" series.  This summer we were out at the cabin on a rainy weekend and we started watching "Drive" and you know what?  This was a really good show.  It was just getting started and then it stopped....I think there was only 6 episodes and it was never properly finished?  Who won the race?????  I will never know....SIGH....I do forgive Dreamy Mr. Fillion (insert dreamy sigh here)....how could I not?

Well this afternoon we put together this yummy little concoction and it was delectable.  Dreamy Mr. Fillion (insert dreamy sigh here) knows his bean dip! (Hubby understands my love for Dreamy Mr. Fillion...insert dreamy sigh here).


Dreamy Nathan Fillion's 7 Layer Bean Dip a La Dr. Horrible's Sing a long Blog Commentary 

In a casserole dish, layer the following, in the order given:

• 1 large can re fried beans (Dreamy Mr. Fillion says to use the fat free vegetarian kind)
• 1 pkg sour cream mixed with 1 pkg taco seasoning
• 3 or 4 tomatoes, chopped (however many will adequately cover the first 2 layers)
• guacamole (use which ever brand or recipe you like)
• 1 cute little can of diced green chiles
• 1 cute little can of sliced black olives
• 1 bag shredded Mexican cheese

You will also want a bag of good, strong corn chips or tortilla chips to go with it...nothing whimpy that will break on you!

Spread out the re fried beans evenly

Mix, mix, mix....

Spread the taco sour cream evenly over the beans

See, 2 layers down, 5 more to go!

Make sure to spread those tomatoes for even coverage!

Guacamole!!  I could have used more but I only had 2 avocados

I improvised a little and added some green onions...

The green chiles....and another improv. add in: roasted red peppers.

Black olives and cheese!!!  I only had cheddar so we used that.

Hey baby, check out those layers!!

Mmmmm....beany, layery goodness.....

This amazing bean dip will be made again, and again, and again.....especially when watching my favourite Dreamy Mr. Fillion flicks (insert dreamy sigh here).....