Blackbean Layer Dip

I love to cook.  Anyone who knows me knows this.  I especially like to take traditional recipes and put my own spin on them.  This weekend we decided to make some carne and pollo asada for my Dad and my Stepmom.  Well you can't have carne or pollo asada with out some chips and dip, not in my house!  So looking through a recipe book I spied a recipe for 7 layer bean dip.  A classic.

The recipe usually calls for refried beans.  This was my first modification, I'm not a big fan of refried beans for several reasons.  #1. They are high in fat, #2.  (and this is a big #2, no pun intended) they give me horrible gas and #3. black beans are naturally high in fiber and I personally prefer the taste.

I wanted to take a picture of my creation, unfortunately, it didn't last long enough.  By the time we were done, the bowl looked like a war zone, bits of dip randomly scattered around the bowl clinging to life and begging for mercy.

What you'll need:

• medium bowl
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can green chiles
• 1 cups mexican blend cheese made with 2% milk
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 2 large Roma tomatoes
• 6 scallions
• 1/2 cup yellow sweet corn
• lime juice
• cilantro

Start by putting the black beans in a processor and pureeing them.  Once they have reached a slightly chunky paste texture add 1 tbsp lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.  Chill the beans while you do the rest of the prep.  Take out the sour cream and let that warm up a little bit as well.  Dice up your tomatoes into bite sized pieces removing the seeds and liquids.  Set aside.  Dice up the scallions as well and set aside.  Taking a handful of cilantro chop it up and set aside.  Open the can of green chilis and drain.

Taking out the beans, use a spatula to add a layer of sour cream.  Then add a layer of cheese.  Now, at this point you can choose to heat the dish and melt the cheese.  If you do this you have to keep the dish warm other wise the cheese turns into a big glob of cheese that makes it nearly impossible to scoop with a tortilla chip.  Or you can leave it cold as is.

Next add a layer of tomatoes, then the chilies and the scallions and corn.  Sprinkle the cilantro on top of it all.  Done!  Serve with warmed tortilla chips and watch it disappear.  It's magic.