Cinco de Mayo Round Up

Mexican is one of our favorite cuisines. So it comes as no surprise that we are happy to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a large Mexican feast.  

Here are some of our all time best Mexican recipes:

Healthy Mexican Vegetable Lasagna

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Mexican Corn Soup
Taco Salad

Shredded Chicken Taquitos
Corn Risotto Stuffed Peppers
Five Layer Mexican Black Bean Dip

 

Southwest Chicken Pasta Skillet

Chili's Copycat Salsa 

Are you celebrating Cinco de Mayo tomorrow? 

Healthy Mexican Vegetable Lasagna

A hearty Mexican style lasagna packed full of roasted veggies.

Mr. J and I always love a good Mexican meal. The spicier the better. And guacamole, boy do we love guacamole.  Let's just say any Cinco de Mayo celebrations are right up our alley.

Tacos, enchiladas, burrito bowls and nachos. We make them all on a regular basis. To switch things up a bit I decided to take the flavors and ingredients of all of the things we love and make a lasagna.

This lasagna bake is packed full of veggies and a can of refried beans making it super hearty and filling. It easily serves eight large portion. We have been eating it all week long. I portioned out containers the first night and they have been the easiest lunches each day.

I used red and yellow peppers but you could easily use green and orange. And really a pre-cut frozen package would work great too if time was tight. And I know Trader Joe's has a frozen roasted corn package. Easy peasy.


So get kick your Cinco de Mayo festivities off with this dinner.

Healthy Mexican Vegetable Lasagna

by Emily Morris, adapted from Pinch of Yum

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Keywords: bake entree vegetarian Cinco de Mayo Mexican

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Ingredients (Serves 8)

• 2 red bell , chopped
• 2 yellow bell peppers, chopped
• 2 jalapeno, sliced
• ½ onion, chopped
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1½ Tablespoon taco seasoning
• salt to taste
• 2 cups Mexican blend cheese, shredded
• 15 small corn tortillas
• 1 can refried beans
• 2 can red enchilada sauce
• cilantro, guacamole, or sour cream for topping

Instructions

Heat a large nonstick skillet with oil over high heat. Add the onion and peppers, sprinkle with taco seasoning. Allow the peppers to roast and brown on the outside before gently stirring. Repeat one more time, waiting for the veggies to roast a bit before removing from heat. Set aside.

Repeat the process with the corn, removing from the heat when browned and roasted on the outside. Sprinkle the veggies with a little bit of salt and toss to coat.

Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the tortillas into thin strips. Put the refried beans in a bowl and mix with 2-3 Tbsp of water to make them easier to spread.

To assemble the lasagna spread a little bit of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan. Place half of the tortilla strips on top of the sauce. Layer all of the refried beans, half of the veggies, half of the sauce, half of the cheese on top of the tortilla strips. Cover with the other half of the tortilla strips, and the remaining veggies, sauce, and cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted. Remove foil and cook a few more minutes to brown the cheese a bit.

Serve with guacamole, fresh cilantro, sour cream, or salsa.

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Homemade Taco Seasoning

Making your own seasonings is so easy. You can control what goes in (less salt) and the flavorings. This taco seasoning has just the right amount of heat.

For a while we had so many spices that just sat and accumulated dust. If you know me, you know that wasting food and taking up space are too of my biggest pet peeves. Now I try to only have the most used on hand. Any additional spices I need I buy from bulk containers, only what I need. I also buy combinations to make blends.  


The blends are more cost effective and you can control what goes into the blend. Not only can you shift the flavors to match your preferences but you can limit the salt. Spice blends from the store tend to have so much salt. 


To kick off a few recipes for Cinco de Mayo, I thought I would share my taco seasoning blend. This recipe is very versatile and works great for tacos or enchilada seasoning. You can also add it to popcorn. 

Taco Seasoning

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Keywords: Mexican

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Ingredients (2 batches)

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Mix together all ingredients. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

To use:

For every one pound of meat use about 2 tablespoons.

Cook your meat (Ground beef, chicken, or turkey) in a saute pan until just done and browned. Drain off any remaining fat. Sprinkle seasoning evenly over meat and add 1/3 cup of water. Simmer until water is adsorbed.

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