People of the Midwest make everyone not from the Midwest look like an unexperienced dip maker. Seven layer, one of my favorite dips growing up in that part of the country (aside from appetizer-style cheese balls, of course), is just another excuse to scoop a lot of good things up with a chip.

6-8 servings

PARTS
— Small red onion, thinly sliced or diced
— Juice of 1 lime
— .75 cup full fat greek yogurt (small 7oz container) or sour cream
— Something spicy: either .5 tsp cayenne, minced jalapeño, a few a dashes of hot sauce
— 2 medium ripe avocados
— 3 tbsp raw pepitas
— 1 can refried beans (16oz)
— 1 tsp ground cumin
— 1 cup freshly grated cheddar (white, yellow or both)
— .5 cup sliced black olives
— 1 cup good salsa, drained of excess water
— 2 scallions, thinly sliced
— Handful cilantro leaves
— Sturdy tortilla chips, for serving

CLUES
1. In a small bowl, combine red onion and lime juice. Set aside for a quick pickle.
2. In the yogurt container, mix in your spicy thing: a few dashed of hot sauce, some cayenne etc.
3. Place pepitas in a small pan over medium heat and stir frequently until golden. They might pop! This is fun, don’t be alarmed. Place on a plate to cool.
4. While pepitas cool, in another small bowl mash the avocado with the pickling liquid from the onions (and maybe some cilantro or scallion scraps). Taste and season.
5. Return pan from pepitas to medium-low heat and add refried beans and cumin. Cook until warmed through.
6. Spread the warm refried beans on a rimmed plate (for scoopable-ness). Sprinkle cheese over top, followed by olives, pickled onions, dollops of salsa, dollops of yogurt sauce, scallions, cilantro, and charred pepitas. Serve with tortilla chips.