Month: November 2011

Layered Taco Dip

For as long as I can remember, Claudia has been making Layered Taco Dip. Often when I was younger and my parents were entertaining friends at our house, she would making this snack. As a child, I encouraged my parents to have their friends over more often, as it meant I would be able to consume more of this amazing dip.

These days, this dip makes an appearance during football season. Tonight is the Grey Cup, and our Winnipeg Blue Bombers are playing in it. For those who don’t follow the CFL, it’s essentially the Canadian version of the Super Bowl. There are many different versions and customizations to this dip, so please feel free to use your favourite ingredients as layers. Claudia typically keeps it simple with a few main ingredient layers like ground beef, salsa and cheese. I’ve had other variations of this dip that include black olives, refried beans and guacamole. I have found Claudia’s simplicity to this dip to be the best.

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Lazy Cabbage Roll Casserole (aka: Mush)

We had our first official sign of winter today – snow. The dip in temperatures and the cold, wet morning reminded me of my favourite things in life: family, warmth, and comfort foods! This recipe encompasses all three and is a childhood favourite of mine. I don’t know why my brother and I started calling this dish “Mush”, but we did. And it stuck. To this day, with both of us in our 30’s, we continue to call it “Mush”. Actually, so does everybody in my family! This dish is traditionally called Lazy Cabbage Roll Casserole by others because it incorporates pretty much everything in a traditional cabbage roll, without the pain of rolling it into a nice, neat package. This dish is hearty and warm – perfect for the season’s first snowfall. It’s also super easy to make.

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