{Recipes} ~ Cinco De Mayo

I'm not sure if I've professed my love for Mexican food enough yet, but just in case, I'll repeat my sentiments again. I love LOVE Mexican food. I could eat it every day of the week. When we're at clients for work, we usually eat out for lunch. One senior that I work with loves Mexican food about as much as I do. He says I'm the only staff who will let him choose a Mexican restaurant 4 days in a row for lunch and not complain! So yeah, the obsession runs deep.

I took this holiday to try out so many new recipes I had recently pinned. They were all a huge success! I highly recommend the Taco Cupcakes. They were so easy and so good. If I hadn't filled up on cheese dip and guacamole, I definitely would've eaten the whole batch!

Beer-garitas

from Eat Yourself Skinny

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen limeade (recipe below)

2 bottles of light beer

1/2 cup tequila

Limeade:

1 cup fresh lime juice + 2 limes for zesting

1 1/2 cups of water

1/2 cup Splenda sugar blend

To make the limeade:

Zest two limes.  In a large saucepan, combine water, Splenda and lime zest and heat until Splenda is completely dissolved.  Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature.  Stir in lime juice and freeze your limeade concentrate until ready to use.

To make the beer-garitas:

In a pitcher, combine frozen limeade, 2 beers and 1/2 cup of tequila.  Place pitcher in the freezer overnight until frozen through, then mix so that it is in slushy form and serve.  Enjoy!

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This is my go-to guacamole recipe! I've made it several times, and it gets better with each batch. The addition of the grilled corn makes such a huge difference! Since I don't have a grill, I usually just use frozen corn and heat it in a hot skillet with a little bit of oil until it gets some color on it.

Grilled Corn Guacamole

from The Pioneer Woman

 

Ingredients:

3 ears Corn, Shucked

6 whole Avocados, Diced

1 whole Large Tomato, Diced

1/3 cup Onion, Finely Diced

2 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced

2 Tablespoons Diced Fresh Jalapeno

1 whole Lime, Juiced

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1/2 cup Cilantro Leaves

Preparation Instructions:

Grill corn until nice and golden, with good grill marks on the kernels. Allow to cool a bit, then cut the kernels off the cobs. Set aside.

Halve avocados and remove pit. Cut avocado into a dice inside the skin, then scoop out with a spoon.

In a bowl, combine corn kernels, diced avocados, diced tomato, jalapenos, minced garlic, lime juice, salt, and cumin. Stir gently to combine. Add cilantro and stir in.
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This cheese dip was also great. I kept calling it "queso" but Ryan corrected me. Being from Texas, he seems to be a Mexican food expert. He says that queso has a combination of meat and beans in it, and "cheese dip" is what we typically order in Mexican restaurants here in South Carolina. Either way, I ate it happily! It did make a pretty huge batch, which is great for a party, but we only had 3 people eating it. Talk about leftovers!

Queso Blanco Dip

from What Megan's Making

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lb White American Cheese (at the deli counter), cut into 1-inch cubes

1/4 cup diced green chiles

2 pickled jalapenos, chopped

1 ounce pickled jalapeno juice

2/3 cup whole milk

1/2 cup cold water

pinch of cumin


Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stirring after every minute. The mixture will seem watery at first, but will combine into a runny dip once all the cheese is melted. Serve immediately with tortilla chips for dipping. Store leftover dip in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until creamy and hot.

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I love Chili's chips and salsa. In college, I used to go to the on-campus Chili's and order just the chips and salsa to-go. This recipe did taste very similar, except it was a little spicy for my taste. I missed their thin crispy tortilla chips, too!

Chili's Copycat Salsa

from Six Sisters' Stuff

Ingredients:

2 cans (14.5 oz each) whole tomatoes, drained

1 small (4 oz) can diced or whole jalapenos (not pickled)

1/4 c. yellow onion, cut into quarters

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 to 1 tsp. salt (depending on how much you prefer)

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. lime juice

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients together into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Serve with tortilla chips.

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Taco "Cupcakes"

from Life as a Lofthouse

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef (I used 96% lean)

1 packet taco seasoning

2/3 cup water

1 can black beans, drained (I don't like black beans, so I substituted corn instead!)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

36 wonton wrappers

Favorite Taco toppings: salsa, sour cream, etc

Directions:  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain grease. Stir in taco seasoning, water and black beans. Bring mixture to a boil, and then reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 10 minutes, or until water is absorbed.

Spray 18 regular muffin cups with cooking spray. Place one wonton wrapper in each muffin cup. Divide half of the meat mixture between muffin cups. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the meat. Repeat layers with another wonton wrapper, taco meat and cheese. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and wrappers are golden brown. Serve with your favorite taco toppings!

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Whew, what an amazing Mexican fiesta! I'd make all these recipes again in a heartbeat. Hope you get a chance to try them out, too! Just don't wait until next Cinco de Mayo until you do!

My parents and I made these delicious nachos on Saturday, but unfortunately I don't have the recipe. The recipe came with the grill pan from Williams Sonoma that we gave my dad for Father's Day one year. They are sooo good.

 

Cheers!