This was definitely good, and I made it for a Christmas gathering, a time of year that our family is accustomed to having Mexican food. It made a gorgeous presentation. However, there are a few men in the family who don't like green pepper, so I omitted that. Plus, the taco seasoning kind of gives the beans a strange after-taste. It might just be me, but my sisters said that they always left off the taco seasoning as well. Sometimes we add ground beef to it just after the cheese layer if we want to make it more of a meal. Another plus is to get some takeout refried beans from a Mexican restaurant to put in it--somehow they just make it better, if I can remember to do that during all the hustle and bustle of the shopping, etc. But it is a beautiful dip and makes a gorgeous presentation. I like to serve it in a large, round bowl that has straight sides, almost like a trifle serving dish. I found something very festive at a local discount chain that was partly transparent so the guests could see the different layers through the sides. Beautiful!

Reviewed On: Mar. 28, 2006

I recently had a party with some people who enjoy good Mexican food...and they DEVOURED this! The key that made this 7-layer dip so successful is the LACK of taco seasoning in the refried beans. I've used that in the past, called for in other recipes, and it's just not good to me. I asked my sisters about it, and they've said they just leave it out because there's a strange after-taste. We grew up near the border and had alot of great Tex-Mex, and this recipe SHINES above any other I've tried. I prefer not to use canned refried beans, rather to go to one of the local Mexican restaurants and get a pint of their beans--they're just better if you want to WOW your guests...something different about the texture. Texans close to a Pancho's know what I mean. If you don't have time to make your own guacamole, Walmart sells a good one put out by AvoClassic, plain or spicy in a box with two 8 ounce packages that you can mash a little more, or not. I took a Mexican cooking class while a student in Mexico, but many of these recipes are just as good...including this one.

Reviewed On: Mar. 28, 2006

Five stars with a note about some substitutions that I HAD to make. I tried VERY HARD to find the kiwi-raspberry frozen concentrate and the Raspberry Creme soda because those things sounded like they'd be a wonderful combination with the raspberry sherbet. I mean I WENT ALL OVER A VERY LARGE AREA--I WAS A WOMAN WITH A MISSION!!! But to no avail. If anyone knows a specific store chain that carries these items, please post it. I ended up at a Kroger, where finally exhausted and frustrated, but determined to give my guests something wonderful to drink and very comparable to this wonderful recipe, so I found 2 12-oz containers of White Grape-Raspberry frozen concentrate (Welch's) and two 2-liter bottles of Big K Koolers, Strawberry Kiwi flavor. My guests arrived parched and dove into the punch, and they RAVED about it, and the women asked for the recipe. My husband afterward said it looked like Pepto Bismal, but we were all delighted at the wonderful flavor. If anyone locates the kiwi-raspberry frozen concentrate (which may be a regional thing), please post which chain. Thanks.

Reviewed On: Mar. 28, 2006