Taco Dip

Nearly everyone in the world is familiar or even madly in love with some type of taco dip recipe.  There are thousands of recipes out there.  Some have beans, some have meat, some have both...and some have neither, which is the case for the recipe I'm going to share with you today.

This is not my recipe.  This is the recipe.  I have no idea where it came from, I'm just glad it came.  This dip has been a staple at every family get-together for as long as I can remember.  We love it so much that when I make it at home just for us, my daughter and I will eat half the tray for lunch, and come back to snack on it all the rest of the day until it's gone.  Sometimes I just make half the recipe because it's so addictive (and something tells me we probably shouldn't share an entire tray between just two people!).

A note about the cheese - I was fortunate enough to find some cheddar without added coloring.  That yellow color of the cheddar isn't actually a natural occurance; it's added, usually in the form of annatto, but I can't for the life of me figure out why.  It does nothing for flavor or preserving.  Maybe it's just because we psychologically connect cheddar and yellow?  Or perhaps it's so we can more easily spot mold?  I tried to do some research about why annatto is added to cheddar, and the best explanation I could find was that once upon a time, when dairy cows were all still grazers, the cheese did have a yellow tinge because of their diet of grass. When factory farming came into vogue and the cows' diets were altered so dramatically, the cheese lost its yellowness, so they added food coloring to make it look like the cows were still healthy and producing a quality cheese product.

At any rate, I like to try to find some unadulterated cheese (I mean, it should be pretty simple, right?), and that's why the cheese in these pictures is white.

Also, this recipe calls for Taco Seasoning mix.  It's very easy to make your own with seasonings most of us have in our spice cupboard already and skip the packaged mixes (which all contain various stabilizers and anticoagulants).  A quick google search will yield several results, all of which are pretty much the same: 1 Tbs chili powder, 1 tsp each: salt, black pepper, cumin, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp each:  garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red chili flakes, oregano.  Mix it all up and this mixture equals the same amount that is in the package.  It's nice to make your own because you can adjust the spiciness of it by increasing or decreasing the chili powder or the crushed red chilies, or adjust the salt, or what have you, so you can tailor it to your liking.  It's also nice to double or triple the recipe and store it in a jar for easy grabbing when you need taco seasoning.

Taco Dip

this is a photo of half the recipe

yields one 10x15" tray

• 1 8oz pkg cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 8oz container sour cream
• 1 pkg taco seasoning mix (or 2 1/2 Tbs homemade mix)
• about 5 cups chopped lettuce
• 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese (I like medium cheddar, but mild is nice, too)
• 1/2 c each of any assortment of the following veggies:  chopped red onion, chopped green onion, chopped red and/or green pepper, chopped tomato, chopped black or green olives
• Tortilla chips for dipping (I like to either make my own, or purchase some great organic blue chips)

Place the softened cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning into a bowl.  With an electric hand mixer on low speed, blend well (but don't whip).  Spread the mixture evenly into a 10x15 jelly roll pan (or something of similar size with sides).  Top with chopped lettuce, then the cheese, and sprinkle with your chosen veggies.

Scoop and eat with your tortilla chips.

If you need to store the dip, cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.  It will last for a couple of days.