"Don't double dip! It's like putting your whole mouth right in the dip! From now on, when you take a chip – just take one dip and end it!" ~Timmy to George (Seinfeld)

As a kid I wouldn't touch Mexican food. This was mainly because my Auntie Bev called refried beans "rechewed beans." As in, "Let's go out for Mexican and get that dip with the rechewed beans in it." In my young mind that meant that all Mexican food was...well, you get the picture.

Flash forward a few years and I'm at a party, looking down at a lovely dip surrounded by tortilla chips. I turn to my friend's mom and ask what it is. She tells me that it is a Mexican Seven Layer Dip. I then ask, very seriously, "Does it have rechewed beans in it?"

After she stops laughing, wipes her eyes and hands me a small plate of dip and chips, she informs me that it does not, in fact, contain rechewed beans. It does however, have refried beans. Aha. I immediately dig in, and in that moment my love of Mexican food takes root.

Though this is technically an American dish, it is usually referred to as Mexican so why don't we split the difference and call it "Mexican-American." There are many ways to make this dip. You can skip the ground beef to keep it vegetarian, add a layer of jalapenos to spice it up or mix cream cheese in with the sour cream. Any way you make it, it's sure to please a crowd.

Seven Layers of Goodness Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 pkg taco seasoning mix
• 1 16 oz can rechewed (I mean refried) beans
• 4 cups shredded Cheddar Jack cheese
• 1 8 oz container sour cream
• 2 cups guacamole (I used 2 pkgs of Wholly Guacamole)
• 1 cup salsa
• 2 small chopped tomatoes
• 4 chopped green onions
• 1 2.25 oz can sliced black olives, drained

Directions:

• Brown ground beef.
• Drain the beef and mix packet of taco seasoning into it. Set aside.
• Spread beans into the bottom and onto sides of a 9 x 13 glass dish.
• Add 2 cups cheese onto beans.
• Layer ground beef on top of cheese.
• Spread sour cream onto the beef.
• Spread guacamole on top of sour cream.
• Pour salsa over guacamole and spread evenly.
• Add remaining 2 cups cheese on top of guacamole.
• Top with tomatoes, onions and olives.

Enjoy!