Great Recipe Ideas for Cinco De Mayo

Burritos made with Shredded Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken.

I love Cinco De Mayo! It is a great excuse to make (and eat) exciting new dishes and to get together around the dinner table with friends.  In this post, I compiled Mexican-inspired recipes together that I think are great and other ones that I want to try very soon (like maybe on May 5th)! The recipes marked with an asterisk are ones that I have tried and loved. Enjoy.

Great Recipe Ideas for Cinco De Mayo

Main Dish Recipes
Shrimp and Vegetable Enchiladas with a Creamy Poblano Sauce*
White Fish Tacos *

Baked Chicken Taquitos - one of our favorite meals!

Mexican Flag Chicken Burritos*
Green Chile Chowder with Black Beans*
Shredded Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken (Like Cafe Rio)*
Baked Chicken Taquitos*
Black Bean Roasted Poblano Enchiladas (vegetarian)
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Sweet Potato Tacos*
Restaurant-style chicken fajitas*

Side Dish/Appetizer Ideas
Mexican Seven Layer Dip
Loaded Nachos
Perfect Guacamole
Mexican Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette*
Corn Pudding*

Dessert Ideas
Mexican Wedding Cakes*

Key Lime Pie Tarts

Tres Leches Cake*
Homemade Churros
Key Lime Pie Tarts*
Sopapilla Bites


I hope you will enjoy these recipes. I think that I am going to try out the black bean roasted poblano enchiladas for our meal on Cinco De Mayo. I want to do something vegetarian and something that is mild enough so that my daughter can eat it. I will let you know how they turn out! Hope you have a wonderful Cinco De Mayo.

Dark Chocolate Lime Truffles with Candied Lime Peel

I made another type of truffle this week. The recipe was something I hadn't even planned on, and I'm glad it worked. All week long I was wanting to make lemon truffles with bittersweet chocolate. After getting home from work on Tuesday, I started getting the ingredients together for the truffles. And to my surprise, I was completely out of lemons. I drove over to the corner store, hoping they had lemons, but all they had was lemon juice. So I didn't make any truffles on Tuesday. On the way home from work Wednesday, I had every intention of stopping at the grocery store for lemons. But I was so focused on making sure I got through the green traffic light ahead of me that I forgot to turn left to go to the store. I'm always in a hurry, just like everyone else in this world. The guy at the corner store had told me on Tuesday that they might have lemons the next day, so I stopped there again, but I didn't have any luck. I really wanted to make those lemon truffles, but since all I had was limes,  I decided I would try lime truffles instead. I couldn't find any recipes on the web for truffles with dark chocolate and lime, so I wondered if they would even be any good. I trusted my instincts though, and I made the lime truffles. I basically followed the same recipe I use when I make the lemon truffles, but used lime zest and lime juice. I used Scharrfen Berger bittersweet chocolate for the filling and coating of the truffles. They turned out pretty amazing, and I love them. I totally made something with lime just in time for Cinco de Mayo too, and I'm pretty proud of that. I'll be serving them for dessert after my Cinco de Mayo dinner. And then I'll share the rest of them at work on Monday! Hope you have the best Cinco de Mayo ever - I know I will.

Recipe for Dark Chocolate Lime Truffles with Candied Lime Peel

INGREDIENTS:
For the truffle filling
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. of heavy whipping cream

3 tsp. of lime zest
9.7 - 10 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa)
2 Tbsp. of freshly squeezed lime juice
Cocoa powder, to help with rolling
For the truffle coating
9.7 - 10 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa)
For topping 
2 medium limes
2 Tbsp. of water
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
Decorative sugar (optional)

To make the candied lime peel, use a vegetable peeler to grate strips of the lime peel. Use a knife to cut the grated peels into 3/4-inch long and 1/4-inch thick pieces. Place the water and 1/4 cup of the sugar into a small saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring almost constantly, until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add in the lime peel, put heat on low, and cover. Allow to cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, uncover, and allow to cool completely. After cooling, drain through a fine mesh sieve/strainer. Separate the lime peels and place onto a large plate lined with parchment paper and let dry. Once dried, put lime peels into a bowl and add in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Toss until the lime peels are coated with the sugar. Set aside until ready to use for topping truffles. You will probably have more candied lime peel than you will need - pick out the prettiest ones to top the truffles with & save the rest for nibbling!

TRUFFLE DIRECTIONS:
For the truffle filling
Finely chop the chocolate by breaking it into squares and placing in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until the chocolate is finely chopped. Leave chocolate in food processor bowl until ready to use.

Put the heavy whipping cream and lime zest in a medium-sized saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook until the cream just comes to a simmer, then remove from heat and immediately pour in the finely chopped chocolate. Cover the saucepan and let it sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir the cream and chocolate together very gently until the mixture is smooth. Add in the lime juice and stir until just combined. Pour the mixture into a bowl and cover tightly with a lid or with plastic wrap. Put in the fridge for several hours, preferably overnight.

Line the bottom of freezer-safe containers with foil or parchment paper. Take the chocolate lime mixture out of the fridge. Dust your hands with cocoa powder, have ample supply of paper towels nearby (because your hands will get messy), and use a cookie dough scoop to scoop up the mixture. Use your hands to roll each scoop into a 3/4-inch ball, then place in a single layer in the prepared containers. Cover the containers with a lid and place in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

For the truffle coating
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Prepare the bottom pan of a double boiler by adding water. Use a sharp knife and cutting board to cut the dipping chocolate into smallish pieces. Place the chocolate in the double boiler saucepan. Place the bottom pan of the double boiler over medium heat, and when the water begins to simmer and steam rises, place the saucepan with the chocolate on top of the boiler. Stir the chocolate frequently until is is completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat. Take the balls out of the freezer. Drop one or two at a time into the chocolate mixture, and use a spoon to coat completely with the chocolate. Gently drop on the prepared baking sheet and top with a candied lime peel. Sprinkle with a little bit of decorative sugar, if desired. Continue this process, working quickly, until all of the truffles are dipped and topped. Place the pan into the fridge and allow the chocolate to harden. They should be ready to eat after about 20 minutes. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy!

Recipe makes 25 - 30 truffles.

Candied lime peel recipe adapted from Cooking Light

It's almost Cinco de Mayo - let's celebrate by eating delicious food!

Potato, chorizo & goat cheese tacos with smoky aioli

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo! In case you are ever wondering when Cinco de Mayo is, it is ALWAYS on the fifth of May! Yesterday a coworker mentioned to me that she needed a margarita, so I told her she could have one on Cinco de Mayo. She went on to ask me when it was - asking me if it was next weekend. Maybe she thought that we were still in the month of April?

I'll be celebrating Cinco de Mayo tomorrow. My husband and I invited a couple friends over, and I'll be making some of my favorite Mexican foods. It will be our first time having company (besides my parents) over since we started to fill up the rooms in our house with bathroom vanities, ladders, boxes, and other beautiful sights. Our house is definitely still a disaster, but I've come to the conclusion it will always be a work in progress, so any friends who visit us will just have to forgive the mess! I have to forgive the mess every day in order to keep my sanity!

Tomorrow I'll be making taquitos, quesadillas, beans, homemade salsa, and corn pudding. Here are some of the foods that will most likely be on the dinner table tomorrow night:

Creamy Vegetarian Taquitos (baked) or chicken taquitos
Super Salsa
Slow Cooker refried beans
Corn pudding (like the one from Chevy's restaurant)
Dark chocolate lime truffles with candied lime peel

Restaurant-style chicken fajitas

Here are some other fun foods that can be a part of your Cinco de Mayo celebration:

Sweet potato tacos
Potato, Chorizo, and Goat cheese tacos with smoky aioli 
Restaurant-style chicken fajitas
White chicken chili soup (for those in cooler climates)
Mango and Avocado salad
Mexican salad with cilantro lime vinaigrette 
Key lime pie tarts

Key lime pie mini tarts

This week I had planned on making lemon truffles, but I kept forgetting to buy lemons. So I made dark chocolate lime truffles with candied lime peel, and they will definitely be served as an after dinner treat tomorrow. That recipe will be coming soon. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

Creamy Vegetarian Taquitos - BAKED, Not Fried

I love taquitos. I have had guests over to my home who have never seen a taquito before and they wonder what in the world they are eating for dinner. I tell them not to fear the taquito, because it is just a crispy rolled up taco. Taquitos are traditionally filled with chicken, pork, or beef and then fried to a crispy perfection. I was exposed to taquitos at a young age since my parents are from Southern California and Mexican food was often served in the house for dinner. My mom would usually make burritos, tacos, fajitas, and quesadillas & the taquitos were usually only made on special occasions.

I never realized that taquitos could be baked until I stumbled upon the recipe for baked creamy chicken taquitos from Annie's Eats. Baking is a great method for getting them crispy – you avoid the hassle and mess of frying, and it is much healthier.

Since I am limiting my meat meals, I decided to try out (my own) experimental recipe for creamy vegetarian taquitos. I had no idea if the recipe would work out to my liking, but it did. It actually exceeded my expectations. My biggest concern was that there would be too much moisture from the vegetables and that the tortillas would get soggy, so I had to add in some extra prep time to avoid that from happening. It’s okay though, because it was worth the extra time. Greg even told me that he liked the vegetable taquitos better than the chicken taquitos. I think I might have to agree with him, and that barely ever happens!

Recipe for Creamy Vegetarian Taquitos 

INGREDIENTS:
1 8-oz package of sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 medium zucchini, chopped thin and then cut in half or quarters (larger slices quartered, smaller slices halved)
2 medium yellow squash, chopped thin and then cut in half or quarters (larger slices quartered, smaller slices halved)
1/2 cup of chopped kale
Kosher salt
4 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
4 cloves of minced garlic, divided
2 seeded and deveined jalapeno peppers, divided (this if dependent on your heat threshold, I love spicy so I usually don’t fully deseed or devein)
1 tbsp. Chiplotle Adobo Sauce (use the sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce)
1/2 cup of super salsa (make ahead of time)
1 tsp. Ancho chili powder or regular chili powder
1/2 tsp. of cumin
a pinch of ground cayenne pepper
1.5 cups of shredded cheese (I used a blend of cheddar and habanero jack cheeses)
3 – 3.5 ounces of cream cheese, softened at room temperature
2 – 3 tbsp. of chopped cilantro
12 – 14 six-inch flour tortillas or 8 – 10 10-inch flour tortillas
3 tbsp. of toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
Baking spray for coating and kosher salt for sprinkling the taquitos

DIRECTIONS:  Put 2 tbsp. of oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the jalapeno slices from one jalapeno and sauté for about a minute or two. Add in one clove of the minced garlic, and sauté for about 30 seconds, until it is fragrant. Add in the mushrooms, kale, and a sprinkling of kosher salt. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook the mushrooms and kale for about 5 – 7 minutes, adding more oil if necessary, until the mushrooms and kale decrease in size and are fully cooked. Turn off the heat on the stove. Put the mushrooms and kale in to a colander set over a bowl. Add about 1/8 tsp. of kosher salt, and stir gently until the salt is fully incorporated in to the mushroom mixture. Let stand to drain the moisture and oil out of the mixture.

While mushrooms are draining, return the skillet to the stove. Add 2 tbsp. more of olive oil to the pan and put over medium heat. Add the slices from the other jalapeno pepper, and sauté for one to two minutes. Add one clove of minced garlic, and sauté for about 30 seconds. Add in the squash and a sprinkling of kosher salt. Stir the squash to coat with the oil, turn heat to medium-low, and cook for about 6 – 7 minutes until the squash is tender and cooked through, adding more oil if necessary. Before taking the squash off the heat, add in the tablespoon of chipotle adobo sauce, stir, and turn heat to low. Let simmer for about a minute, remove from heat and turn off stovetop. Pour the squash in to the colander with the mushrooms and kale. Add 1/4 tsp. of kosher salt to the colander and gently stir. Allow vegetables to drain for about 45 minutes to an hour, continuing to stir and trying to get as much moisture and oil out of the mixture as possible.

After mushrooms and squash have drained for 45 – 60 minutes, add 1/2 cup of the salsa (make sure to use the chunkiest part of the salsa, trying to avoid adding too much more liquid in to the vegetables) to the vegetables and stir to coat. Continue to let the vegetables drain for about another 20 minutes.

After vegetables have sufficiently drained (you should see about ¼ cup or more of liquid/oil in the bowl set under the colander), pour the vegetables in to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the mixture with the cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper and stir to coat. Let the vegetables sit with the spices for about 15 minutes. Add in the 2 cloves of minced garlic, chopped cilantro, cream cheese, and shredded cheeses. Stir until well incorporated. Add more cream cheese if necessary for a better consistency. Let the mixture sit, covered, for another 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. While the oven is heating, prepare the taquitos. If necessary, heat the tortillas in the microwave on low for a few seconds so they are easier to roll. Set up a work station to roll the tortillas. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the creamy vegetable mixture evenly down the middle of the tortillas, top with about 5 – 6 pumpkin seeds, and then roll very tightly. Place each rolled tortilla seam side down on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. Spray each one with baking spray and sprinkle the tops with a little kosher salt. Don’t skip the salt – it adds something really special! Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, and rotate the pan 180 degrees halfway between baking. Bake until the tops are light brown and crispy. Let the taquitos cool for 10 minutes before serving. They are great dipped in sour cream, salsa, guacamole, or a mixture of all of them! Eat with your favorite Mexican sides. 
**Original Recipe**

FIESTA!