Treinta Recipes for Cinco de Mayo

 

Cinco de Mayo. It's a Mexican holiday celebrated on the 5th of May (duh) commemorating Mexico's defeat of the Second French Empire back in the 1860s in a battle over debt.

You'd think, by the big deal we here in America make over Cinco de Mayo, that it's a major Mexican holiday, even their Independence Day, but in fact, it's not, it's not even an official federal holiday. Mexico's call for Independence was on September 16th, back in 1810, starting an 11 year battle culminating in their formal independence on August 24, 1821. Their federal independence holiday is celebrated on September 16th.

But we Americans? Who can blame us for grabbing any excuse to celebrate any Mexican holiday. Because we all know that any celebration includes food, and Mexican cuisine is a favorite. In fact, I think we should celebrate Cinco de Mayo, August 24th, September 16th, and Taco Tuesday.

For any and all of those dates you choose to observe, I've put together a collection of 30 (plus a couple of bonuses) of my family's favorite foods. From breakfast to lunch, cocktails and appetizers, dinners, side dishes, and all the way through dessert.

I've broken down the recipes into bite sized pieces, so to speak (sorry). Below you'll find 3 graphics, underneath you'll see the name of each recipe (starting at the top left and ending at the bottom right), a short description, and a link for you to click on that will take you to post where, at the end, I share that recipe.

I'll start the recipes where we all start the day, with breakfasts and breads (first row), then soup, salad and sandwiches (second row), and a cocktail and appetizers (bottom row):

 

Breakfasts and Breads

1) Breakfast Nachos with Buttery Tortillas

Homemade buttery tortilla chips are the base to this fun bacon and eggs breakfast dish, perfect for sharing.

2) Fiesta Quick Bread

A little smoky, a little spicy, this bread is packed with flavor. Delicious as is, or toasted. And pair it wih my Green Chili Chicken Soup with Taco Rice for lunch.

3) Tex-Mex Breakfast Casserole

This casserole is a one pan breakfast dish with a little bit of a kick.

4) Cinnamon Hojaldras Crisps

My interpretation of the light and crispy traditional Hojaldras Fry Bread.

Soup, Salad and Sandwiches

5) Steak Fajita Quesadillas

Thin sliced steak, vegetables, and cheese are sandwihed between crispy pan fried tortillas. They work as well as an appetizer as they do as a meal.

6) Green Chili Chicken Soup with Taco Rice

A hearty soup with a little kick (or a big kick, you decide how hot). Pair it with my Fiesta Quick Bread and you've got lunch.

7) Summer Salad Tostada

Fresh crisp vegetables and a flavorful con and black bean salsa in a homemade tortilla shell. Muy bueno!

8) Taco Chicken Quesadillas

Taco flavored chicken, vegetables, and cheese are pan grilled between flour tortillas for a flavorful lunch, dinner, or snack.

Cocktails and Appetizers

9) Raspberry Orange Margaritas

You can make them individually. we make them by the pitcher. The fruity flavors of raspberry, orange, and lime hit the spot on a warm day.

10) BBQ Pork Corn Chip Nachos

Great as an appetizer, but also for a snack, lunch, or dinner. The barbecue flavor goes so well with the melted cheese and a little bit of heat. And the warm corn chips are perfect for dipping.

11) Taco Roll Casserole

A shared savory appetizer inspired by Monkey Bread. Fill thes little rolls, allow to rise, bake, and wait till you see what you get!

12) Jalapeno Popper Rollups

Don't have a lot of time but want a delicious, quck, and easy appetizer (side dish or snack)? Try this option to slicing and filling whole jalapenos.

Main Dishes

13) Stuffed Taco Pork Tenderloin

Stuffed with salsa rice, rubbed with taco seasoning, this dinner isn't difficult to make, but it sure looks (and tastes) impressive. Taco night isn't just about tacos any more.

14) Shrimp Enchiladas

Large and small shrimp, spicy cheese, and rice rolled into a soft tortilla and baked. A delicious dinner ready in under an hour.

serve with:

Pineapple and Corn Salsa Fresco

A refreshing versatile accompaniment that comes together in minutes. Serve as an appetizer with tortilla chips, or as a complement to grilled firsh, chicken, or over enchiladas.

15) Taco Shrimp

Full of Tex-Mex flavors, shrimp is rubbed, pan sauteed, and served with Pico de Gallo and avocado slices.

serve with:

Pico de Gallo

This salsa is not cooked, it's served fresh. Great with chips as an appetizer, or as an accompniment to a meal. My boys love it on burgers too.

16) Sriracha Chipotle Ranch Chicken Nachos

These nachos are not an appetizer, they're a flavorful and hearty meal. Easy to make, fun to eat.

17) Taco Stuffed Potato Skins

A meal version of the classic potato skins appetizer. These meal worthy skins are stuffed with taco beef and vegetables, then topped with melted cheese.

18) Shrimp Alfredo Enchiladas

Spicy, creamy, these enchiladas are filled with taco shrimp, beans, and a whole lot more.

19) Taco Mac and Joe Casserole

Is this recipe Sloppy Joes? Tacos? Mac and cheese? Yes to all of them, a marriage made in the kitchen.

20) Chicken Enchilada Pot Pie

A family favorite, all the flavors of chicken enchiladas in a tortilla crusted pot pie.

21) Spicy Pulled Pork Pot Pie

Spicy pulled pork, cheese, and vegetables are topped with mashed potatoes for the ultimate pot pie comfort food.

22) Pepper Jelly Glazed Taco Meatloaf

Coomfort food at its best, baked with taco flavors and topped with a pepper jelly glaze.

Side Dishes

23) Street Corn Rice 

A side dish using a favorite summer treat as inspiration. Grilled corn, lime, cilantro, all the flavors are there. Goes really well with tacos or quesadillas.

24) Pina Colada Bread

This quick bread could be anything, breakfast, snack, served with lunch or brunch, even dessert. The flavors of a favorite cocktail baked into a bread.

25) Smoky Cornbread

This version of cornbread is infused with a little smoky flavor and a little heat.

26) Taco Rice

An easy, one pot side dish. This pairs well with Tex-Mex dishes.

Desserts

27) Strawberry Margarita Cake

Have your drink and eat it too

28) Frozen Strawberry Margarita Pie (no bake)
A fun summer cocktail in pie form. This refreshing dessert is no bake, so just assemble, freeze, and serve.

29) Strawberry Pina Colada Galette

A rustic tart inspired by the cocktail, made with strawberries, pineapple, an more.

30) Dessert Strata

Crisp homemade cinnamon sugar tortillas layered with chocolate vanilla, and strawberry shipped cream.

So let's get cooking (baking, drinking, and eating)!

And, as always, if you try any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment here on my blog and/or stop by the Baking In A Tornado facebook page and let me know what you think.

Wishing you a delicious Cinco de Mayo.

I DO Know: Fly on the Wall

 

Welcome to our monthly Fly on the Wall, a blog post written in snippets. Marcia, Diane, and I invite you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes, at our writing desks, and in our worlds. Come on in, buzz around, see what we've been up to. Bet you laugh! 

Apparently Hubs had some paperwork coming to the house. I wasn't aware of it, but he let me know the morning it was due to arrive.

Hubs: FedEx will be dropping off an envelope today, they'll need a signature.

Me: Then you better plan to be here to get it.

Hubs: Why, are you going out?
Me: No, it's Wednesday.

Hubs: And?
Me: I'm doing laundry.

Hubs: And?
Me: I don't answer the door when I'm wearing my doing laundry clothes.

Hubs: {{blink, blink}}.

Well, I mean you all have doing laundry clothes too, right? And you wouldn't open the door wearing them either, would you?

Although they're rarely right, Hubs has gotten me into the habit of checking the weather app now and then. I actually have it set to 3 cities: where I live, where PurDude lives, and where my mom lives.

I saw that the forecast for my area was dismal, but PurDude's was even worse. We were texting that morning, as we always do:

Me: It's going to be cold and rainy here. Looks like you're getting some sleep?

PurDude: Because your weather makes me tired?

Me: Sleet. Not sleep, sleet. Sheesh!

I was on a local store's website looking for an electric toothbrush head replacement. Somehow, what came up was . . . teeth? 

Teeth? One size fits all? Available at the grocery store? And it seems, from their advertising, that they're designed for minimal speech disruption. 

That's a hard pass. I won't be buying dentures at the grocery store. I'll stick to my G-d given choppers, thanks.

What's next? Over the counter IUDs?

 

We generally don't play the lottery, but when it gets high enough, it's hard to resist. The Powerball had gotten way past high enough, close to the billions. We played and I was fully expecting to win. At least something, right?

 

Wrong, Hubs and I both got just one number each. Two people won and obviously it wasn't us. I was sorely disappointed. Why couldn't it have been me?

 

I know, I'll ask Google.  

 

So I typed in "why didn't I win," and as always, Google gives options as to what I might be looking for based on common queries, trends, and my search history. Top option they offered? Why didn't I win the sperm race?

 

Umm, no. Not what I was going for. Now I'm spending way too much time wondering both how many people ask that for it to be a common query, or what my personal search history says about me.

 

The answer to either one of those, I really don't want to know. 

Hubs needed some oil for the car. It's european oil that you can't find everywhere, but our local Walmart has it, and at a great price. I ordered it on the morning of the 5th, and it was due to be delivered that day by 10:00 pm. I was watching the order through the day and in large letters it said "arriving by 10:00 pm," then in tiny letters under that it said "searching for a driver." Well, that can't be good. Especially since Hubs needs that oil.

At 9:30 pm, they updated the order to "delayed." They sent an email saying they'd do everything they can to get it to us within two days. Not going to work. 

The next morning, Friday, the 6th, Hubs decided he'd have to go out and get it himself if it wasn't coming by noon. Every time I checked, there wasn't an update.

Just before noon, I updated Hubs:

Me: Looks like Walmart put us in a time machine.

Hubs: What?
Me: Yes, the order updated.

Hubs: What does that have to do with a time machine?

Me: The update is that it's due to arrive by 1:30 pm, Thursday March 5th.

Hubs: That's yesterday.

Me: Hence the time machine . . .

Italian Party Sub

We were going to watch a Purdue basketball game. Hubs had been in his man cave watching an earlier game, which was going into overtime. I didn't care, I follow teams, not sports.

 

He came into the den just before the Purdue game was about to start. He looked up and saw I had the TV on and the game going into overtime on the screen.

 

Hubs: What channel is Purdue on?
Me: This one, that's why I have this channel on.

Hubs: Oh, I thought you put this channel on because you were being nice, knowing I was interested in the overtime game. 

Me: No, I'm not that nice. 

 

I thought I was joking but I didn't hear him disagree . . . 

 

I notice Hubs walking around, seemingly randomly:

Me: What are you doing?
Hubs: Looking for my glasses.

Me: When did you have them last?
Hubs: I don't know.

Now, normally I'd laugh at him, tell him he's getting old, but it turns out I don't think it's so funny.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have my moments, even posted about it on my Baking In A Tornado FB page:

So yeah, you won't catch me laughing. Crying maybe, but not laughing.

You know I love mysteries and I recently was challenged with one myself. The Case of the Stowaway Bird.

I really like unsalted peanuts in the shell. I haven't seen them in a store for quite a long time (other than priced as if it were gold. 

Hubs was in a hardware store and gave me a call. They had a 5# bag of peanuts for about $6. Sounds like they're for squirrels. He told me that they have them for squirrels also, but these are for people. Although a 5# bag will last pretty much forever, we decided he'd get them.

I had a few here and there the first few days. One day, I felt a stick in the bag. I poured some of the peanuts onto the counter and out came the stick. And a bird.

A bird?

These peanuts had a stowaway. And since they're grown and processed in North Carolina, I have to wonder what bird would leave that climate for winter in the Midwest.

I may need to do some investigating.

A text between PurDude and I:

Me: I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but dad is a cereal killer.

PurDude: What are you talking about?

Me: He's caused irreparable harm.

PurDude: I doubt it.

Me: I have proof:

A few minutes later, Hubs comes up from his man cave:

Hubs: What's going on?
Me: What are you talking about?

Hubs: PurDude just texted me.

Me: OK . . .

Hubs: Here's what he said . . . "is mom off her meds?"

Speaking of someone who is serially responsible for the murder of Americans, attacked and dragged away while just trying to live their lives in the cities they call home:

In last month's post, A Whole Hole, I questioned the intent of a news show praphic of trump. I certainly know what I thought about the situation, but the producers? Not positive. Could go either way.

But the next graphic I saw on the same show made it pretty clear.

Yes, that dope is an a-hole. And we all know it.

 

 

Now click on the links below and see what my friends have to share:

Menopausal Mother 

On the Border

Italian Party Sub

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

6 oz grape tomatoes

2 TBSP Italian salad dressing

1 (14 - 16 oz) Italian Loaf, unsliced

4 TBSP butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

6 oz shredded cheddar, gouda, and gruyere cheese mixture

10 slices deli black forest ham

10 slices deli roasted chicken

10 slices thin sliced pepperoni

1/2 cup pepperocini slices

1 cup spinach

8 slices provolone

Directions:

*Cut the tomatoes in half, mix with the Italian dressing and set aside.

*Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

*Slice the Italian loaf in half, lengthwise. Leaving about a 1 inch border, hollow out most (but not all) of the bread from the bottom, creating a boat. Leaving a 1 inch border, scrape out just some of the bread from the top.

*Mix together the melted butter and garlic powder. Brush about 2/3 of this mixture onto the bottom of the loaf.

*Into the bottom of the loaf, layer the shredded cheese mixture, followed by the ham slices, folded in half, the roasted chicken slices, folded in half, and the pepperoni slices.

*Top with the tomatoes mixed with the salad dressing, the pepperoncini slices, the spinach, and finally the provolone.

*Top with the remaining half of the bread. Brush the remaining butter and garlic powder over the top.

*Wrap tightly in heavy tin foil. Bake for 1/2 hour. Uncoover the top and bake for another 10 minutes.

Plots and Prey: Fly on the Wall

 

Welcome to our monthly Fly on the Wall, a blog post written in snippets. Marcia, Diane, and I invite you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes, at our writing desks, and in our worlds. Come on in, buzz around, see what we've been up to. Bet you laugh! 

I had a bit of a harrowing experience recently. I was home alone, so I'd had a leisurely morning. Having finished my coffee, I was about to take a nice hot shower. Making sure the water was just how I like it, I jumped in and closed the glass door.

Well, I didn't exactly close it like I'd planned. When it was about 5 inches from being closed, it broke. Wouldn't budge, either way. And I was in there. Naked. Did I mention home alone? Picture that.

Actually, don't. You can take my word for it.

My leisurely morning had gone to hell. I was trapped. And phoning a friend wasn't an option.

Neither was shutting off the water (which was dripping onto the shower matt and floor), and standing in there naked for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately necessity was not the mother of invention this case, but desperation being what it is, I was finally able to jam the door open a few more inches and squeeze my way through. Into the puddle on my bathroom floor.

I may be, for the foreseeable future, taking nice leisurely baths for a long while now. After all, what could go wrong?

Don't answer that. 

It's baseball season! Or for me, Red Sox season since that's the only baseball I watch. I'd mentioned in the past that for Mother's Day, PurDude buys me a subscription to all the Red Sox games. That includes the pre-season games.

We'd been watching a pre-season game, where many different pitchers were trying out for a spot once the season started. After an outing, one of those pitchers was asked about a change in his form. He explained that the coaches had been working with him on how he starts his pitches, in an effort to keep his arm attached to his body.

I'm thinking that it's probably a good thing, athlete or not, to . . . you know . . . keep your arm attached to your body.

When one of the newer players came to bat, the announcers said his name and we were confused. They put his name up on the screen as he stepped into the batter's box, and we were still confused: Jhostynxon.

Now my name is Karen, so believe me, I'm not one to make fun of people's names. But the announcers said that the player was asked about his name and said that his parents couldn't decide between two names, so ended up taking letters from both.

Say what?

First, those parents should have their parent cards revoked.

But second, can you just imagine him in first grade, when all the kids are first learning to write their names?

Little Bob (working hard at forming his letters): B - o - b

Little Sue (working hard at forming her letters): S - u - e

Little Dan (working hard at forming his letters): D - a - n

Little Jhostynxon: I quit.

Watch what you say . . .

Saying "talk to the hand" is an insult that can hurt. But did you know that talking about the hand in an insulting way can boomerang that hurt right back to you?

I know. Now. 

I used to have my nails done regularly, but for years now I've just been doing them myself. I generally keep up with them. I was going through my Insta feed and saw a few people posting some really pretty nail art, most spring inspired.

 

I looked down at my own nails and was mortified. I was way overdue for a touch-up. Clearly they'd been peeling for I don't know how long.

So I posted a picture with a snarky comment about how beautiful {{cough, cough}} my hand looked.

 

that line at the bottom of my hand is just shade from the window treatment slats, btw

I guess my hand took offense, along the lines of "you think that's horrible? Oh, honey, old my beer."

By the time I realized that I had an infection under my rings, the whole finger was so swollen I couldn't get the rings off. It was painful, and my whole hand was becoming involved. It was an excruciating process, but I (with the help of a few medicinal shots of Patron) bit the bullet and ripped the rings off of my finger so I could treat the infection.

But I will never, I mean never, body shame an appendage again. Lesson learned. 

Hubs: These salmon patties are delicious.

Me: When I grilled salmon for dinner the other night, I made extra so we'd have leftovers. I think the grilled salmon makes a difference in the flavor.

Hubs: Are you going to put this recipe on your blog?
Me: Yes, since we are both happy with how they came out.

Hubs: I don't see you taking as many food pictures as you used to.

Me: Well, I used to post 8 to 9 times a month, now that I'm only posting once a month, I don't have to come up with as many new recipes.

Hubs: Now that you're only posting one a month, they have to be really good recipes.

Me: Are you saying I come up with not good recipes?

Hubs: Umm, quick question: will it work out better for me if I go out and buy you flowers? Or have them delivered?

Grilled Salmon Patties

The holidays came (very, very) early for College Boy. I was in our bank accounts and noticed he had 2 credits of almost $2300. When I looked at them, it made no sense to me, he always has a healthy balance on his account.

I asked him about it, and he had no idea what it was about. He can’t remember ever having had an issue with insufficient funds, and would absolutely remember (who wouldn’t?) if he’d ever been hit with a $2000 fee.

It was a weekend, Monday was a holiday, so he called the bank on Tuesday for clarification. They told him the deposits were legit, but couldn’t tell him what they were about. They offered to connect him to another department for more information. College Boy accepted, but hung up after holding for 40 minutes.

Now I love mysteries, you know that, but I greatly prefer for them to have an answer at the end. If not, it leaves me hanging, trying to come up with feasible scenarios in my head. Well that and, in this case, the hope that whatever did happen would happen to me too.

So I’ve been diligently checking my own account about 5 times a day, hoping that free money fairy might put $2300 in there too, for no apparent reason.

So far, no such luck.

But I do have a new earworm, that old Dire Straits song . . . "get your money for nothing . . ."

 

Not having learned my lesson after taunting the hand, seems a comment I'd made was taken as an insult (or a challenge) by Mother Nature.

 

I was saying, and it was true, that Florida had gotten more snow this winter than we had in the Midwest. 

 

Once again, I'd be treated to an "oh honey, hold my beer," moment.

 

It started to snow. And snow. And before you knew it, we had Florida beat. By a mile. 

And you know who everyone I'd originally joked with was blaming, right? Yup, me. 

If only I could use my power for good instead of evil.

 

 

So, it had been snowing. Yes, again. Apparently Mother Nature can really hold a grudge. Anyway, we were watching a basketball game, after which Hubs was going out to snow blow the driveway.

 

Me (pulling out a bottle of wine): I'd ask if you want a glass of wine, but I don't want you to be drunk blowing.

Hubs: {{blink, blink}}

Me: OK, that may not have come out right.

Hubs: I think maybe you're the one who should lay off the wine.

 

Yeah, he could make a case for that. 

Next thing you know, my neighbor is . . . well . . . lawn blowing.

So maybe that whole drunk blowing actually is a thing.

Finally it looked like the weather was starting to change. The sun had come out and we were starting to see some bare concrete on our front deck. In fact, the left side, that got more sun, was completely clear.

That afternoon, the Fed Ex guy made a delivery. Where do you think he choose to throw the album?

Did you guess?

 

Now click on the links below and see what my friends have to share:

Menopausal Mother 

On the Border

Grilled Salmon Patties

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

NOTE: this recipe requires the salmon to be cooled after grilled, so be sure to have a few hours between grilling and preparing the patties. I usually grill the salmon the night before.

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

3/4# skin on salmon fillet

1 green onion

2 eggs

1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 cup corn flakes, crushed

1 TBSP oil

1 TBSP butter

OPT: sliced lemon or tartar sauce for serving

Directions:
*Mix together the salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne. Sprinkle onto both sides of the salmon fillet.

*Heat the grill to medium. Place the salmon on the grill, flesh side down, and cook for 3 minutes. Flip the fillet over and grill, skin side down, until the fish is fully cooked and flakes when a fork is inserted into the center. How long it will take to cook will depend on the thickness of your fillet.

*Remove the salmon from the grill, remove and discard the skin. Chop the fillet and refrigerate in a bowl until cold (I refrigerate overnight).

*Chop the green onion. Mix the cooled salmon with the green onion, eggs, and bread crumbs. Using your hands, form into 6 balls.

*Individually, press each ball into the corn flakes to coat, flattening the balls into patties. Turn the patty over and coat the other side. Place wax paper onto a plate or tray, and refrigerate the patties for an hour.

*Add the oil and butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once it starts to bubble, add the salmon patties. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the bottom is browned. Flip the patties over and turn the heat down a little if necessary. Cook another about 5 minutes until browned and the centers are warm. 

*OPT: serve with lemon slices and/or tartar sauce.