This was an adaptation from a ground beef recipe book that I picked up when Andrea bought the Epicure silicone steamers that are so good at cooking ground beef quickly and easily. I didn’t use a steamer for this recipe, as there are other ingredients to cook with the beef, but that was more choice than necessity. I’ve been looking for a dip-like recipe, or a softer chili recipe at least, and thought this might be worth a try. A definite keeper.

Ingredients

• 1 lb / .5 kg Ground beef
• 1/2 onion, medium-sized, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tbsp nacho cheese dip powder
• 1 cup + 3 tbsp sour cream
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2-3 tsp fresh parsley
• Tortilla chips

Sous-Chef Preparations

1. Chop the medium-sized onion (use 1/2 of it).
2. Chop the red bell peppers (use 1/2 of it) and green bell pepper (use 1/2 of it).
3. If using block cheddar, shred the cheese (1/4 cup).

Main preparations

4. Using a large skillet or dutch oven, cook the ground beef (1 lb / .5 kg), chopped onion (1/2), and chopped peppers (2, chopped) over medium heat until the pink in the beef is gone. Drain.
5. In a small bowl, mix the nacho cheese dip powder (1 tbsp) with sour cream (1 cup only at this point) and add the nacho powder/sour cream mixture to the pan.
6. Add the salsa (1/2 cup), oregano (1/4 tsp) and pepper (1/4 tsp).
7. Bring to a boil.
8. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
9. Transfer to a serving dish or individual bowls.
10. Distribute the shredded cheese (1/4 cup), remaining sour cream (3 tbsp), and parsley (2-3 tsp) on top.
11. Serve with tortilla chips.

Variations/Notes

• For additional garnish, reserve 1/4 of onions and peppers and add at STEP 11.
• Gunslinger version: Slice and add 4 tbsp ripe olives, 4 tbsp pimento-stuffed olives, 2 tbsp chopped green chilies, and 1 tsp chopped seeded jalapeno pepper at STEP 4.
• If you are not ready for the gunslinger version, you could simply add spicier salsa at STEP 6.