Fresh Tomato Salsa
Fresh Tomato Salsa ~ light, spicy fresh tomato salsa with a hint of lime and no cooking involved. Also called pico de gallo ~ it’s a delicious appetizer with tortilla chips or topping your favorite Mexican dish.
We planted our garden again this spring and watered and fertilized all the plants; probably watering more this year than I can ever remember because of the stretches of 90+ temps.
We lovingly cared for these little sprouts like they were our children, anxiously waiting for the first sign there would be a harvest and watching as some of the tomato plants grew as tall as me. Don’t be too impressed ~ I’m only 5’2″.
Our reward for all this tending is lots of tomatoes. I’m talking Lots.Of.Tomatoes. We’ve eaten them in pasta salad, sliced on BLT’s and even a goat cheese-tomato appetizer. Some have a future in marinara but for now, our favorite is this Fresh Tomato Salsa with a basket of tortilla chips and a couple of margaritas.
Taco Cupcakes
Hola! That’s pretty much the extent of my Spanish, even though Mexican food is one of my favorite things to eat pretty much any day of the week. I don’t need National Taco Day or Cinco De May to chow on 4 or 5 of these Taco Cupcakes. They’re really great all by themselves, but put out with a pitcher of margaritas and friends, you’re got yourselves a party.
Chicken Enchilada Casserole
One Pan Chicken Enchilada Casserole ~ layers of boldly flavored chicken, black beans and tortillas layered then topped with cheese and baked until warm and bubbly.
Most days I love cooking. It relaxes me in a way that very few other things do, but even food bloggers have nights we come home, put on comfy pants and just want to dinner to magically appear on the table.
Chicken Enchilada Casserole is simple, quick, really delicious and everything cooks in one pan. Layers of tortillas, seasoned chicken, black beans, enchilada sauce and cheese. Lots of cheese. It’s about as close as I can come to magic. Make it for dinner tonight for your family or add a pitcher of margaritas and a side of guacamole for easy entertaining with friends.
Shrimp Tostadas
I’ve probably told this story before, but in my single girl days I lived on Taco Bell cuisine ~ it is considered cuisine, right? I have no shame in saying this. It was cheap (still is) and good (still is) and in those days I wasn’t much of a cook. Win-win-win. I had a couple of favorites from that neon lit menu board that saw me both at meal time and for late-night snacks. One favorite was the bean burrito. The other was the bean tostada. Are you seeing a pattern? Though I still have a sincere appreciation for Taco Bell, my tastes have evolved (thankfully) and so have my cooking skills (“yes, thankfully” said my family in a loud chorus!) but I still love a good tostada, especially this Shrimp Tostada.
