The Very Best Taco Dip. Really.

Sunday afternoon we were honored to have our pastor and friend over for a visit. I was really excited to try out a new taco dip recipe I had found online. I knew I would have to adapt it because refried beans are just not a thing our house! I planned on browning some ground beef and adding some taco seasoning mix instead. Which would have been great, except I didn't have any taco seasoning mix.


Here is where it gets fun. You see, I am a recipe follower. As in, step by step. I leave no room for creativity. Enter Fr. Ross, who happily offered to mix up a homemade taco seasoning mix with various items from my spice basket. Yay! Peyton browned the ground beef, and Fr. Ross mixed up the best tasting spice mix I ever tasted. Meanwhile I was chopping and shredding, and guess what? I went all rogue! No measuring! Imagine that!

The recipe then called for layers of sour cream and guacamole. But before we did that, I found some cooked white rice in the refrigerator. Fr. Ross immediately thought of spicing up that bland rice and adding it as a layer. He and Rhett went to work and soon we had some really delicious flavored rice for our next layer.

Fr. Ross assembled the remaining ingredients...and when we were done...we all agreed it was AMAZING!!! Did I feel bad about inviting our pastor for dinner and having him cook mostly all of it? Yep. Until I realized that he really enjoyed it. And that he is an awesome cook. I also realized that it is possible to stray from a recipe and do your own thing. And that it can be fun and delicious!

All lined up and ready to go!

I don't really know how much Father added of each one, but the end result was delicious!

(Photo Credit goes to him, too!)

Layer. Layer. Layer.

Look how pretty!

And man, was it good!

Ok. So. Here goes.

Brown some ground beef. Drain. Mix in some taco seasoning...

Store bought is good. Homemade is better.

Put it in the bottom of a dish.

Be sure to cool it off too.

Next up...

Add a little bit of water to some cooked rice and sauté it with some of that yummy taco seasoning.

Layer the rice on top of the meat.

Layer some sour cream next.

Then some guacomole.

Add a layer of salsa.

Then some shredded lettuce. We used green leaf.

Next up is a layer of shredded cheese. We used Mexican Blend.

Finally, top with a layer of chopped tomatoes.

Serve with your choice of tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

*This recipe was adapted from a recipe that appeared on a website that adapted it from Allrecipes.com.

And all the credit goes to Fr. Ross and Rhett for this one!