Cinco de Mayo Celebration

This year, Cinco de Mayo falls on a Tuesday, which is also known as Taco Tuesday, so this is basically the best situation ever! Maybe I’m stretching a bit, but it gives us something to look forward to and celebrate in light of being quarantined.

How do you plan on celebrating? We are going to enjoy a nice Mexican themed dinner with all the fixings! Here is the menu:

We’re going to enjoy a “Trio of Dip” with Guacamole, White Queso, and Spice Homemade Tomato Salsa. This will be something to snack on while we cook and also to enjoy with our meal.

The guacamole and queso are both store-bought. I do have a great recipe for Chunky Guacamole, which can be found here, and White Queso Dip, which can be found here. There is something about homemade guacamole and queso that gets me every time…so hard to put down the chips! But this time we’re opting for convenience and going with store-bought items.

The Spicy Homemade Tomato Salsa is made from scratch. It tastes similar to salsa you would have at a Mexican restaurant but with a slight kick. I think it’s a little spicy, but the heat comes after each bite. Otherwise, the ingredients are very fresh and blend together nicely.

The recipe can be found here.

Start by slicing the jalapeno and yellow onion. You can roughly slice them; it doesn’t need to be perfect because you are adding them to a food processor to do the rest of the work.

Add the jalapeno and yellow onion to a food processor and pulse a few times.

Add the entire can of Rotel and tomatoes to the food processor – make sure to include the juices from the cans as well. Also add the garlic, cilantro, salt, cumin, sugar, and lime juice to the food processor. Pulse until blended but do not puree! You want chunky salsa.

Pour the salsa in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. This helps the flavor blend together.

Serve chilled with tortilla chips. My favorite chips are the Tostitos Hint of Lime but choose your favorite! Store any leftover salsa in the fridge.

The recipe can be found here.

This was my first-time making Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas. They were easier to make than I thought and tasted great! The chicken was moist, the onions were tender, and the tortillas were crispy. The melted cheese and salsa on top paired perfectly.

The recipe can be found here.

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. If you have a deeper pan, I recommend using that, but a standard 9×13 pan will work just fine.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Then add the garlic, oregano, and cumin to the skillet. Stir to combine and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in both cans of diced green chilies.

Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the chicken, 1/3 cup salsa verde (green salsa), cilantro, and 1 ½ cups shredded cheese. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper, to taste. I like to use rotisserie chicken because it’s pre-cooked and often pre-chopped but feel free to cook your own chicken to use if you prefer.

Lay 8 tortillas on the counter. Add the mixture evenly between the 8 tortillas. You shouldn’t have any left because you want each tortilla to be full.

Roll each tortilla and place, seam down, in the baking pan. All 8 tortillas will tight in the pan, but it will be tight.

Pour the remaining salsa over the top and sprinkle with the other 1 ½ cups of shredded cheese.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is starting to turn golden brown. Serve warm, topped with sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro (optional).

The recipe can be found here.

Homemade Churros with Chocolate Dipping Sauce is also a new recipe for me. Churros are essentially strips of fried pastry dough. They are crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and have a lovely cinnamon-sugar coating. They pair really well (like, really really well) with a chocolate dipping sauce. These churros will change your life.

The recipe can be found here.

In a small saucepan, whisk together the water, salt, 1 ½ Tbsp sugar and oil. Bring to a boil, then immediately remove from the heat. Slowly add the flour and continue to stir until the dough forms a ball. It’s ok if there are a few chunks but try to get most of the flour chunks out. Remove the dough to a plate or bowl and let it cool for 5-10 minutes.

Heat about 2-inches of oil in a deep pan or skillet. While the oil is heating, create an assembly line. Line a plate with paper towels to drain excess oil from the churros. Combine the cinnamon with 1 cup of sugar in a shallow dish. Set another plate out for the “finished” churros. You assembly line should be 1) pan for frying, 2) plate for draining oil, 3) cinnamon-sugar mixture for coating, and 4) plate for serving.

Add the dough to a pastry bag that is fitted with a large star tip (I like to use Wilton 1M). Cut of the corner of the bag. You don’t have to use a pastry tip if you don’t have any or don’t want to. It gives the churros some definition on the sides to help the cinnamon-sugar mixture stick to and is a pretty decoration, but it’s not required.

Pipe the dough into the oil, about 6-inches long. Use scissors to cut off the end. Be careful to not burn yourself when the dough drops into the oil! Let the dough fry for about 30-45 seconds, or until golden brown. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the churros from the oil and place on the paper towel lined plate.

Make sure to pipe the dough slowly. If you squeeze too hard or force the dough out the piping tip, you risk the bag splitting open. Trust me…. I speak from experience 🙂 So I always have a spare bag ready on the counter in case I need to do a quick transfer of dough!

Continue to fry the churros until all dough has been used. While the dough is frying, you can coat the existing churros with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Transfer 2-3 churros at a time to the cinnamon-sugar mixture and toss to coat. Remove to the serving plate. Continue this process until all churros have been coated. I recommend doing a taste test at this point for quality reasons 🙂

Add the heavy cream to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 60 seconds. Add the vanilla and stir to combine.

Add the chocolate chips and stir until melted. The warm cream will help melt the chocolate. The end result is a thick chocolate sauce.

Serve the chocolate sauce warm with the churros.

The recipe can be found here.

Most people probably think about margaritas when they think about Mexican food. I’m not a fan of tequila so I’m opting to make Frozen Pineapple Daquiri’s instead. These are a cool and refreshing blended drink. Great pineapple flavor, not too much rum (or too much rum depending on how you like it :)), and not too filling.

The recipe can be found here.

Add all ingredients to a blender – frozen pineapple, fruit juice, and rum. Blend until smooth. Add a bit more fruit juice (or rum) if necessary, to get the desired consistency.