Thursday, April 14, 2011

Celebrating Fiesta With a Duo of Mexi Dips!!

If a week can be "one of those weeks," then this one certainly qualifies for Casa Garcia. It's been super-hectic here, with lots of stuff going on. Needless to say? I'm so glad that tomorrow is Friday, and that I have a three-day weekend coming up! My office is closed tomorrow because it's Fiesta time in San Antonio. Fiesta is a 10-day citywide celebration with parades, fiestas, and all sorts of fun events all over town. Trust me: it's a Big Deal! Sort of like our version of Mardi Gras with a Tex-Mex twist, if you will.

What better way to celebrate Fiesta than whipping up a couple of fun and tasty dips to share with family? So, that's exactly what I'm doing tonight! As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I received samples of three new all-natural dip mixes from Tostito's and Lay's earlier this week: Country Ranch, Garden Onion, and Freshly Made Guacamole. For tonight's family get-together, I decided to make some guacamole and use the ranch seasoning to create a Weekend Gourmet original recipe: Mexi-Ranch Dip. The Greek Ranch Dip that I shared in here recently was such a hit that I used the same basic idea...this time using ingredients commonly found in Tex-Mex food.

Mexi-Ranch Dip...and Freshly Made Guacamole


Step 1:  To make the Mexi-Ranch Dip, add the following ingredients to a mixing bowl: an 8-ounce light sour cream (I prefer Daisy brand), 8 ounces whipped cream cheese, 1 tbs. puree from a can of chipotle chiles, 1 packet Lays Dip Creations Country Ranch dip mix, 3/4 cup shredded four-cheese Mexican blend, 1/2 chopped seeded tomato, and 2 sliced green onions.


Step 2:  Stir well to combine and spoon the dip into a pretty serving bowl. Refrigerate for at least one hour to let the flavors combine.


The guacamole isn't a recipe so much as a method. I simply added the Freshly Made Guacamole seasoning mix, diced tomato, finely chopped white onion, and 2 tbs. finely chopped cilantro to two large, ripe avocados.


I mashed everything together with a spoon, making sure to leave some of the avocado chunky. I personally find that avocados from Mexico are creamier and make the best guacamole...so look at your label when you're grocery shopping!

The dip mixes made it super easy to whip up these two dips in about 20 minutes. The packets added just the right amount of seasoning to the dip and the guacamole without tasting fake or overwhelming. Both dips are delicious and simple to whip up, even during your most hectic week!!

13 comments:

  1. Mmmmm...both look really good!!! Perfect with corn chips :)

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  2. Yummy. Wish we had those dip mixes where I live.

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  3. I love three day weekends and guacamole! Jealous of both of yours!

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  4. Love a great dip! Yours look and sound amazing! A must try for sure. Have a wonderful weekend ahead!

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  5. I was caught up in your fiesta mood just by reading your post. It is overcast and dull here in London and I can just imagine how marvelous and fun it is there in San Antonio. Have fun!

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  6. Yes...these dips are very good! If you don't have the Lay's dip mix, you can easily use Hidden Valley for the Mexi-Ranch, which is available everywhere! Its texture was great...the whipped cream cheese gave the sour cream a bit of heft. It could also be spread on crackers...and I'm thinking it would be GREAT for a spread on the base of a wrap sandwich!!

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  7. I love dips! Mexi-Ranch dip sounds delicious! Ever since moving to Texas I crave Mexican like 4 times a week, so this will be a great addition to make!

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  8. Wow, the San Antonio fiesta sounds like such great fun! I'll be moving to Austin this June and can't wait to take part in similar events like this. Thanks for sharing, Wendy! Both the guacamole and Mexican dip look absolutely delicious!

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  9. Looks yummy! Great job! I, too, received these fun Dip Creations to play with. I'm planning on doing some type of crostini with one of them this weekend.

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  10. I would love to be at the fun San Antonio Fiesta...sounds like so much fun, and my kind of foods that I love so much.
    I never thought of making my dips with these helping and yummy dip spices, and I just happened to mention on my recent post of the availability of the Hispanic products.
    Our local Spanish produce market carries all these and more.
    Thanks for the great tips, Wendy...your dips are so tempting, and delicious with the corn tortilla chips.
    Enjoy the Fiesta:D
    xoxo

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  11. These dips look so yummy, fiesta perfect. Who doesn't love guacamole

    Enjoy you Fiesta, because it's snowing in Chicago

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  12. Michael sampled the Mexi-Ranch last night and said the cream cheese gave it almost a cheese ball flavor, but the sour cream made it dip-able. It was a big hit, but he said I could easily double the chipotle sauce next time since he likes stuff pretty spicy.

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  13. I received the dips as well but haven't sampled them yet. Glad to hear that you liked them!! I was trying to think of something creative to use them for, but as I'm with you in the "one of those weeks" no luck so far. We'll keep thinking!

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