8 Layer Dip: A Frugal and Freezable Meal
As Many Of You Know . . .
I am very, very pregnant. Pretty soon hummingbirds are going to get their center of gravity confused and start orbiting my midsection, I just know it.
The thing about being this pregnant is that I am constantly confronted by limitations that are foreign to me. Let me give you an example of who I was before becoming a mom.
Daniel: I had a weird dream last night.
Me: Yeah? What was it about?
Daniel: You were wearing a shirt that said “One Man Army” across the front.
Me: Really? That’s cool.
Daniel: Someone in the dream thought so, too. But I just laughed and said “I’ve lost to that army.”
What I’m trying to say is that good or bad, I used to be a force to be reckoned with. At least I thought so. But you know what? Motherhood requires more stamina, determination and strategy than anything I encountered in the corporate world. It is in my role as a mom that I find I have truly discovered my limitations: time and energy. Sheesh . . . I’ve handled pr blowouts and written magazine articles with more ease than it takes me to put together my weekly meal plan.
A Lot Of That Is My Fault, Though
Sometimes I get caught up in the passion of cooking, which is very real to me, and forget that delicious food does not have to be complicated. So for the past several weeks I have been experimenting with quick and frugal recipes, because as much as I love cooking I do not want to be there all day. I have a life to live, a husband to love, and children to nurture and adore. And I need to stretch my budget to afford some new baby stuff.
Basically, our family needs frugal, fuss-free, freezable meals that are also nourishing. Since I’m just rambling now I’ll wrap this up. This 8 Layer Dip, which was inspired by Organic & Thrifty’s 5 Layer Dip, is AWESOME. It’s not exactly fuss-free but since you can easily make double batches of the meat and refried beans and freeze some it’s easy to get your time back. It is frugal because the black beans provide weight to the meal while being light on your checkbook. And did I mention it is almost certain to be a family favorite?
So, without further ado . . .
8 Layer Dip
By
Published: July 7, 2010
As Many Of You Know . . .
I am very, very pregnant. Pretty soon hummingbirds are going to get their center of gravity confused and …
Ingredients
- 3 cups black beans (rinsed)
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper (seeded and chopped)
- 2 1/2 tsp unrefined sea salt
- 1 3/4 tsp black pepper
- 3 tsp cumin (ground) (for beans)
- 3 tsp chili powder
- 9 cups water
- 4 tbsp whey, lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar
- 1 lb ground beef (preferably grass-fed)
- 1 cup raw cheddar cheese (shredded)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups tomatoes (diced)
- 3/4 yellow or white onion (chopped)
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 2 avocados (mashed, seasoned with salt, pepper, & juice from 2 lemons)
- 2 tsp cumin (for dip)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil, ghee, lard or tallow
Instructions
- Steps 1-5: Preparing The Beans -
Place beans in the crockpot or a bowl, add 8 cups of warm water and the whey, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Soak overnight (8-12 hours). - Pour beans into a colander, rinse with filtered water, then place them back into the crock pot.
- Place 1 onion, 1/2 jalapeno pepper, 1 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1 3/4 tsp pepper, 3 tsp cumin and 3 tsp chili powder in a crockpot. Cover with water. They should be nice and plump already from soaking and so will not expand much, but make sure they are well-covered. Set on high for 8 hours.
- Once the beans are tender, strain them and reserve the liquid. Use a potato masher or mallet to mash the beans. If they are too dry, add some of the reserve liquid.
- Add more salt if needed.
- Steps 6-8: Layering The Dip
Warm coconut oil, ghee, tallow or lard in a pan over low/medium heat - Season ground beef with salt pepper and 2 tsp cumin and place it in the pan. Sautee until cooked through. Place it in your serving dish. I used an 8X8 baking dish and it worked well.
- Add refried beans on top of the ground beef. Then add cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, onions and cilantro. Top with avocado mixture and you’re done!
8 Layer Dip
By
Published: July 7, 2010
As Many Of You Know . . .
I am very, very pregnant. Pretty soon hummingbirds are going to get their center of gravity confused and …
Ingredients
- 3 cups black beans (rinsed)
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper (seeded and chopped)
- 2 1/2 tsp unrefined sea salt
- 1 3/4 tsp black pepper
- 3 tsp cumin (ground) (for beans)
- 3 tsp chili powder
- 9 cups water
- 4 tbsp whey, lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar
- 1 lb ground beef (preferably grass-fed)
- 1 cup raw cheddar cheese (shredded)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups tomatoes (diced)
- 3/4 yellow or white onion (chopped)
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 2 avocados (mashed, seasoned with salt, pepper, & juice from 2 lemons)
- 2 tsp cumin (for dip)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil, ghee, lard or tallow
Instructions
- Steps 1-5: Preparing The Beans -
Place beans in the crockpot or a bowl, add 8 cups of warm water and the whey, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Soak overnight (8-12 hours). - Pour beans into a colander, rinse with filtered water, then place them back into the crock pot.
- Place 1 onion, 1/2 jalapeno pepper, 1 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1 3/4 tsp pepper, 3 tsp cumin and 3 tsp chili powder in a crockpot. Cover with water. They should be nice and plump already from soaking and so will not expand much, but make sure they are well-covered. Set on high for 8 hours.
- Once the beans are tender, strain them and reserve the liquid. Use a potato masher or mallet to mash the beans. If they are too dry, add some of the reserve liquid.
- Add more salt if needed.
- Steps 6-8: Layering The Dip
Warm coconut oil, ghee, tallow or lard in a pan over low/medium heat - Season ground beef with salt pepper and 2 tsp cumin and place it in the pan. Sautee until cooked through. Place it in your serving dish. I used an 8X8 baking dish and it worked well.
- Add refried beans on top of the ground beef. Then add cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, onions and cilantro. Top with avocado mixture and you’re done!
Whenever I notice lumps now I do my whole regimen: Phytolacca...
Linda
Sounds delish!
ElisabethCS
I have made this (a variation) for years! LOVE IT! Thanks for the reminder. I need to make a batch. btw…I feel your pain. I am very pregnant too, 37 weeks for that matter.
FoodRenegade
I make a big pot of refried beans every week, but I actually re-fry them. As in, after they’re cooked & mashed, I spoon them into a giant skillet full of a stick of melted butter (from grass-fed cows!) and leaf lard (from pastured hogs!). They’re a lot more filling this way because of all that fat. Then I just use my big batch of refried beans in a couple of meals — fast lunches & dinners like this one!
FoodRenegade´s last [type] ..Almond Flour Banana Bread
Daniel (Daddypotamus)
Wow. That sounds amazing.
Daniel (Daddypotamus)´s last [type] ..Who IS Dominique Jones Video Highlights
Kathryn Nordyke
Your dream reminded me of a song by a band named Five Iron Frenzy- called One Girl Army. =) Made me laugh.
Kathryn Nordyke´s last [type] ..LOL- Laugh Out Loud
Real Food For Busy Moms Pt.3 « The Mommypotamus
[...] prep for this dish is really quick, you’ll need to get started the night before with this refried bean recipe (if you prefer them whole omit the last step with the potato masher). From there, use leftovers or [...]
Bethany Seto
I made a slightly modified version of this tonight (I didn’t make my own refried beans), and it was so yummy. Thanks for the great dinner idea!
Heather
Yay! So glad you like it!
How To Get It ALL Done . . . Or Not « The Mommypotamus
[...] Third, you can intentionally pair inexpensive meals up with more costly ones (like an inexpensive 8 layer dip one night and a hoity toity copycat whole foods salmon dip the [...]
Rain
To up the nutrition, cook the taco meat using bone broth like you would with water when making tacos. To up it even more, puree a small amount of liver in the bone broth and use a homemade taco seasoning mix (the stronger flavor of taco seasoning will help cover the liver taste).
Real Food on a Budget: 25 Tips to Make Eating Healthy Affordable « The Mommypotamus
[...] using this time-saving trick. Not sure what to do once they’re prepped? The bean recipe in this post is my family’s [...]
A Peck of Pickled Peppers « The Mommypotamus The Mommypotamus
[...] not so bad when you’re heaping three-alarm fireballs over Chipotle-style burrito bowls or 8 layer dip, I [...]
Megan
Hi Heather! I came across this recipe in trying to meal-plan and I’m just wanting to clarify – the ingredients that go in the slow-cooker with the beans are:
1 onion (chopped)
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper (seeded and chopped)
2 1/2 tsp unrefined sea salt (Click here to order sea salt)
1 3/4 tsp black pepper
3 tsp cumin (ground) (for beans)
3 tsp chili powder
Is that right? I already have soaked black beans in the freezer which I could thaw and mash and add the above ingredients to, and then proceed with the ground beef portion, right? Thanks!
Megan´s last [type] ..Grain-Free Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Heather
Hi Megan! I recently switched over to a program that makes my recipes printable, but it sure did make this one confusing by adding what was essentially two recipes together. You are correct in which ingredients should go in the crockpot – I’ve updated the instructions to hopefully make it more clear.
Menu Plan Monday: January 14-20 « Storms Stories
[...] Wednesday: Eight layer dip w/organic corn chips, pumpkin smoothies [...]
Camilla
Hey!
Thank you for the recipe, I think my family would love this, but as a Swedish UK dweller I don’t know my tex-mex food so well.., how do you serve this? In individual bowls, one big dish, what accompaniments etc. Reply would be much appreciated!
Heather
Hi Camilla! It is most often served in bowls with corn chips. You use the chips to scoop the dip out of the bowl
Camilla
Thank you!
kachalmers2
Hello. This sounds and looks great, but do avocados freeze well? I don’t even have good luck keeping guacamole in the fridge overnight and have never tried to freeze it. Just curious….thanks.
Heather
No, they don’t! It should say somewhere in the instructions just to freeze the meat and beans, then add the fresh stuff when you’re ready to serve. I did recently change my recipes sections, so maybe it was deleted somehow. Checking now . . .