Healthy Five Layer Mexican Dip and My Top Five Ellie Krieger Favorites!

THIS DIP IS EVERYTHING! I'm serious. It's soooooooooo good that my mom and I ate half. We simply could not stop. If you crave Mexican like we do, but are looking for healthier options then this is YOUR recipe.

Creamy black beans, with just the right amount of heat from a chipotle pepper, are the base for this dip. The next layer is corn mixed with a little onion, garlic, and cilantro. On top of the corn is mashed avocado with lime juice, followed by a fresh salsa made from tomatoes, jalapeno, and scallions. The fifth layer is all about some cheese. I like to use an extra sharp white cheddar because it delivers big in the flavor department and you only have to use a little.

That's it! Grab a chip (or a bowl full) and I guarantee you will be tempted to eat way more than your fair share of this dip. Gather a little bit of each layer on your chip and you will have the perfect bite!

Five Layer Mexican Dip

Recipe found on Food Network

by Ellie Krieger

Makes 12 -1/2 cup servings

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon minced chipotle pepper in adobo
4 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups corn kernels (10-ounce box frozen corn)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
2 ripe avocados
4 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion
1 tablespoon finely diced jalapeno pepper, optional
3/4 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar

Tortilla chips, for serving

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until they soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.

Put half of the onion mixture into a food processor with the black beans, chipotle pepper, 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, cumin, water and salt. Puree until smooth. Set aside.

Add the corn to the skillet with the remaining onion mixture and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro leaves.

In a small bowl mash the avocado with the remaining lime juice. In a medium bowl toss together the tomatoes, scallion and jalapeno, if using. Season tomato mixture with salt and pepper, to taste.

Spread the black bean dip into the bottom of an 8 by 8 glass baking or serving dish. Top with the corn mixture, spreading it out to form a single layer over the beans, repeat with the avocado, then the tomatoes. Top with cheese. Serve with baked chips.

Per 1/2 cup serving (not including chips): Calories 140; Total Fat 8 g; (Sat Fat 2 g, Mono Fat 3 g, Poly Fat 0.7 g) ; Protein 5g; Carb 16 g; Fiber 5g; Cholesterol 6mg; Sodium 245 mg

My Top Five Ellie Krieger Dishes

It has been a wonderful six months cooking the recipes of Ellie Krieger. The recipes below were my favorites, as well as one honorable mention! Goodbye for now Ellie!
 

(click on the recipe title to be directed to the original post)

 Number One

 Ellie's version of White Chili is fabulous and comes in at the very top of my list! Maybe it's the hominy, which I discovered and fell in love with, but this is my favorite chili recipe!

 

Number Two

I am constantly craving Mexican food and this Five Layer Mexican Dip has it all and still manages to be healthy! This is going to be my new go to dip for all parties and potlucks. Love it!

Number Three

Ellie's Honey-Roasted Sweet Potatoes made the top five because I ate them straight off the sheet pan, but they were even better playing the starring role in my Roasted Sweet Potato and Arugula Salad with Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette. This was easily my favorite salad of the year!

Number Four 

If you're looking for a succulent little appetizer that can be made the day before, is pretty, and somewhat healthy, then look no further! These little Italian Sausage Skewers are just the recipe. I'd like to pop one in my mouth right now.

Number Five 

My fifth favorite Ellie recipe was this tasty and hearty Tuscan Lentil and Macaroni Salad. I made this salad on Sunday, packed it into mason jars for my lunch, and made everyone in the teacher's lounge jealous at lunchtime. I never got tired of eating it and just a little bit was more than enough to satisfy.

Ellie's Broiled Chicken Wings deserve an honorable mention. If you're craving chicken wings and trying to be healthy, this is a great option. They are every bit as good as a fried wing.

Theme: Goodbye Ellie!

My Top Five Game Day Favorites!

 

Ina Garten's Hot Dogs in Puff Pastry 

I will never shut up about these hot dogs. Literally never. The puff pastry is flaky and delicious and the hot dogs are hot and juicy and I don't care what anyone says about this recipe, it's a total winner. A major crowd pleaser!

    Ina Garten's Parmesan Chipotle Popcorn 

I made this popcorn before Christmas and little did I know that it would be THE ONLY WAY I eat popcorn now. This is so much better than is sounds or looks. The cheesy buttery popcorn with the hint of spice...it's like the perfect combination and just so addicting. Plus, it is easy as can be to make!

 Ellie Krieger's Healthy Five Layer Dip 

This is a healthy, vegetarian, five layer dip perfect for any snacking or gaming event. The first layer is a creamy layer of black beans seasoned with chipotle pepper, followed by a layer of corn mixed with a little onion, garlic, and cilantro. On top of the corn sits a layer of mashed avocado with lime juice, followed by a fresh salsa made from tomatoes, jalapeno, and scallions. The fifth, and final layer, is all about the cheese. You can use cheddar cheese or whatever cheese you like. I like to change it up using sharp white cheddar because it delivers so much flavor or Monterey Jack. Either way this dip is beyond delicious and you can feel good about eating it!

Ruth Reichl's Baked Cheddar Olives 

 

Okay, I've included these baked olives in several favorites roundups and I will keep doing it because they are utterly delicious! I love the cheesy crackery coating on the outside of the olives. It almost tastes like a goldfish cracker or a cheese it and it pairs perfectly with the salty olive hiding inside. These are just so dang good!

Mark Bittman's Minamalist's Buffalo Chicken Wings 

 

I thought I had my favorite chicken wing recipes, until I tried Mark Bittman's broiled version. I believe I said his recipe had a trifecta going on: broiled crispy chicken, incredibly balanced sauce with loads of buttery garlic flavor, and really juicy chicken. My family descends on these like a pack of wolves.

Cookbook Review: Ellie Krieger's Comfort Food Fix

It's that time of year again when we are all craving our favorite comfort foods and Ellie Krieger's  Comfort Food Fix couldn't have come at a better time.  Full of healthy comfort food recipes, Ellie's book is a treasure trove for anyone wanting to have their cake and eat it too. 

In Ellie's newest book, you will find 150 recipes to suit your every craving.  From Honey-Crisp Oven-Fried Chicken, to Country Fried Steak with Gravy, to something both decadent and chocolatey for dessert. You will really feel like you are truly indulging in your favorites, but without all the guilt.

The book is hardbound and has 304 pages with lots of beautiful photographs.  The chapters, along with some of the recipes I'd like to try are:

Chapter 1: Breakfast, Brunch and Bakery: Crispy French Toast Fingers with Blueberry Maple Sauce and Ellie's Honey Whole-Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Chapter 2: Snack and Starters: Five-Layer Mexican Dip with Chili Tortilla Chips and also Sesame Whole-Wheat Soft Pretzels, plus the "Everything" Parmesan Crisps

Chapter 3: Soups and Sandwiches: Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

Chapter 4: Meat Main Dishes: Horseradish, Cheddar and Caramelized Onion-Stuffed Burgers

Chapter 5: Poultry Main Dishes: Chicken Alfredo with Zucchini Ribbons, Spicy Chicken Fried Rice with Peanuts, Cincinnati Turkey Chili, and Chicken and Biscuit Potpie

Chapter 6: Seafood Main Dishes: Crispy Crab Cakes with Creamy Chili-Garlic Dipping Sauce

Chapter 7: Vegetarian Main Dishes: Autumn Vegetable Curry

Chapter 8: Sides and Salads: Herbed Squash Casserole, Rustic Mashed Potatoes with Blue Cheese, and Corn and Cheddar Spoonbread

Chapter 9: Desserts: I really want to try all the desserts, but I've narrowed it down to her Pumpkin Pie with the Better Basic Pie Crust for now.

First up, I made the Crispy Beef and Bean Tacos.  Ellie uses a lean ground beef and adds black beans to the taco filling.  As a bean lover, this is something that I've done before BUT the one thing I haven't done before is to make my own taco shells.  Instead of frying the taco shells, she brushes them with a little oil and bakes them in the oven like this:

As the tortillas bake, the sides drape down further creating a flat-bottomed taco shape.  My 10 year old daughter thought this was the coolest thing ever and I have to admit that I did too.

These Crispy Beef and Bean Tacos really hit the spot and everyone loved the oven-baked shells.  With flavorful toppings like tomato, red onion, romaine lettuce, cilantro and a little bit of cheese, these tacos rang in at 340 calories for two.  I would, and will, definitely make these again.

 Next up, and completely heavenly, were these Honey-Crisp Oven-Fried Chicken Thighs.  Meaty, tender, succulent chicken thighs are soaked in buttermilk for up to 4 hours and then brushed with honey and coated with crushed cornflakes, seasoning, and baked to perfection.  

I was incredibly impressed with this recipe.  Since the chicken thighs soaked in the buttermilk for 4 hours it was incredibly moist and tender.  The honey provided a touch of sweetness and the cornflake crust was very crunchy.  You could even hear the crunch when you took a bite!  My Mom and I were bowled over with this recipe. This is a recipe that will go into regular rotation here at my house. With very little fat, lots of protein, and only 330 calories per thigh, this is a good thing!

Did you know that you could have Country Fried Steak with Gravy with Smooth and Creamy Mashed Potatoes and not feel guilty?  Yep, it was news to me too!  I had no idea that cubed steak was already a lean cut of meat.  With a mixture of whole wheat and all purpose flour, these cube steaks are double-dipped to create a thick coating around the steak.  The gravy was nice and creamy and went perfectly with the Smooth and Creamy Mashed Potatoes (which by the way were made with only 1 tablespoon of butter in the whole batch).  A down-home comfort food dinner that is delicious and healthy, with about 610 calories total.

Paper Bag Popcorn was a fantastic, easy, and no-fuss snack that we enjoyed and will continue to enjoy for years.  In fact, I wish I'd known that you could make popcorn in the microwave using a paper bag earlier. I would have definitely saved lots of money on microwave popcorn.  Additionally, this paper bag popcorn can be seasoned with whatever seasoning blend you chose, from savory to sweet, and is only 100 calories per serving compared to 170 calories per serving out of the microwave bag.

However, being the chocoholic I am, it was these Dark Chocolate Pretzel Clusters that totally grabbed my attention when first paging through the book and it was these Dark Chocolate Pretzel Clusters that were my very favorite recipe I tried.  Goodness gracious these things are good!!  Chocolatey, crunchy, and salty, they are so ultra satisfying.  The best part is that they really couldn't be any simpler to make.  Just two easy ingredients.

Dark Chocolate Pretzel Clusters

Adapted from Comfort Food Fix by Ellie Krieger

Makes about 12 (I got 15)

Ellie says: "Chocolate with a salty crunch is all the rage now - even the mass market candy makers have caught on.  but some of us are long-time devotees.  Dark chocolate-covered pretzels have been a favorite of mine since childhood, so when I found myself with a bag of broken pretzels what else could I do but smother them in the best quality chocolate and turn them into a mouthwatering candy cluster."

4 ounces any shape thick-style salted pretzels (I used normal-sized twists)

6 ounces dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa solids), chopped

Note: I used Lindt brand chocolate 

Note:  I sprinkled a tiny dash of salt into the mixture as it melted

Line a baking sheet with wax paper.  Put the pretzels into a sealable plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or mallet into about 1/4-inch pretzel pieces.

Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water.  Make sure the bottom of the pan does not touch the water.  Melt the chocolate, stirring frequently, about 1 minute.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Add the pretzel pieces to the chocolate and stir until well coated.  

Scoop heaping tablespoon-size stacks of the chocolate-covered pretzel pieces onto the prepared baking sheet.  Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and allow to cool and set, about 20 minutes.  Store and serve at room temperature.

Serving size: 1 piece

Per serving: Calories 110; Total Fat 5g (Sat Fat 3g; Mono Fat 0.1g, Poly Fat .1g); Protein 2g; Carb 16g, Fiber 2g, Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 130mg

I've always been a huge fan of Ellie Krieger's recipes.  I find that her recipes are always well-tested and extremely well-written.  In fact, in all the Ellie recipes I've tried I've never come across a bad recipe.  I've come to count on Ellie's recipes and believe that they are very tried and true.  I was super excited to see that Ellie had a third book coming out and even more excited when I learned that it had to do with comfort food.  I raced to the store and bought the book on the day it came out.   

If you like comfort food and are concerned about eating healthfully, then this book is for you.  I think you'll be very pleased with your purchase.

Disclosure: I bought and paid for the book on my own. All opinions are my own.