3 x 5 Bean Dip

What do chips and salsa, chocolate chips cookies, and chocolate-covered cherries all have in common? Nothing really, other than they are some of my favorite foods. I tend to eat them until I feel bloated and five pounds heavier.

Even though I am not going to share a recipe for any of the above-mentioned favorites, I am going to provide some easy and yummy instructions for my "3 x 5 Bean Dip." This versatile appetizer or side dish often tempts me to overeat and it might tempt you, too.

This recipe is named for its ingredients so it can easily be memorized. That will save you from having to hunt down the recipe like prey whenever you want to make it. You add three measures of each of the five ingredients to the bean base. Check it out.

• 1 can refried beans
• 3 heaping tablespoons chopped/diced green chili
• 3 heaping tablespoons of salsa (whichever is your personal favorite)
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 33 fresh cilantro leaves
• 3 sprinkles of garlic powder

Put the refried beans in a sauce pan. Add the green chili, salsa, green onions, cilantro leaves, and garlic powder. (Hint: You can use any number of cilantro leaves leaves you choose; it is not crucial to count exactly 33. I indicated 33 so it would fit the name of the recipe and be easier to remember.)

Heat until the mixture is bubbling slightly, stirring enough so it does not stick to the pan.

Feel free to vary any of the ingredients or amounts to suit your taste. Remember, this is "easy eats" so modifying this recipe to your personal tastes is easy and encouraged!

My oldest son, Brian, eats this straight out of the refrigerator as a dip for tortilla chips. It also tastes great rolled up in a tortilla or on nachos topped with melted cheese and/or seasoned ground beef. If you want to keep it really simple, heat the bean mixture in a bowl topped off with melted cheese and a dollop of sour cream. It's delicious, so be careful not to eat too much!

Spiritual Seasoning

In Luke 12:13-21, Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool. In verse 15 He says, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions" (NRSV). It seems kind of silly to equate this verse with bean dip, but let's take a closer look.

When I get "greedy" and eat too much "3 X 5 Bean Dip",  I usually start to feel a little bloated, and if I indulged myself like that on a regular basis I might really gain five pounds. But, if I eat just enough to satisfy my hunger or the desires of my taste buds, I probably won't experience any negative effects. That seems easy enough to understand. However, let's take a look into areas of our lives that we may unwittingly let greed slowly creep in and the consequences we may experience.

Let's start with money. I Timothy 6:10 says, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wondered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains" (NRSV). Many misquote this verse and say money is evil. No, it says that the "love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." When people put more emphasis on money than they should, they often become "bloated" with material things. They want more and more and more. But, worse yet, they begin to establish their identity with the green stuff and put their faith in it instead of God. They begin to gain spiritual weight because they the carry the weight of the world on their shoulders instead of letting Jesus help them carry their yoke (Matthew 29:11-12). The result can be pain in our spiritual and everyday lives.

What about envy as a type of greed...wanting something that someone else has? James 3:14-16 says, "But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind" (NRSV). 

That is more of a mouthful than chips and bean dip. When we get greedy for other people's things we develop a rotten type of bloat in our hearts. Along with that bloat comes the weight of "disorder and wickedness of every kind." Evidently, that list of disorder and wickedness is so comprehensive that James must have thought he didn't have enough room to list them all. Envy has lead to things such as murder, robbery, adultery, arrogance, slander, and the list goes on and on. If you need more examples, all you have to do is pick up a newspaper or watch the evening news to see what drives people to do the bad and crazy things they do.

I suppose if you need to indulge in something, bean dip is pretty benign...it certainly is better than murder and such. But, the bottom line is that we should avoid every type of greed and there is a lot out there to tempt us. It leads to unspiritual bloat and causes us to carry more weight than we need to.

Before I close, I would like to acknowledge the regional Southwest flare of this month's recipe. If you have a fun recipe that is distinct to the region where you live, we'd love for you to share it with us over at Christian Women Take Root. Visit the Easy Eats group and share your recipes. I'll see you next month!

 

(c)2009 Shona Neff