Makes 8 cups (12 appetizer servings)
No cooking required for this layered dip, with all the ingredients that taste so good on a tostada. Dig in with tortilla chips or sticks of your favorite vegetable, such as jicama, celery, or cucumber.
1 can (16 ounces) refried beans 1 cup prepared salsa 2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese 2 fully ripened Mexican avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced (
see Tip) 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 tomato, finely chopped
Stir together the beans and salsa in a medium bowl. Spread the mixture in a 9-inch square dish or in a 2-quart serving bowl. Sprinkle evenly with the cheese.
Toss the avocados with the lime juice in a small bowl. Scatter the avocados and tomato over the cheese.
Paulette Mitchell, a culinary instructor, television personality, spokesperson, freelance food writer, and the award-winning author of 13 cookbooks, is known internationally for her quick-to-prepare recipes with gourmet flair. Paulette's most recently published cookbook is "The Complete 15-Minute Gourmet: Creative Cuisine Made Fast and Fresh." She is also the author of "A Beautiful Bowl of Soup" and "The Spirited Vegetarian," which was voted "Best Book in the World on Cooking with Wine" at the 2005 Gourmand World Media Awards. Paulette says that international travel is her favorite source of culinary inspiration. 
