Fun Recipes for Cinco de Mayo

I love preparing and eating Mexican foods. Although I don’t normally need an excuse to make a batch of salsa or a tray of enchiladas, the upcoming Cinco de Mayo holiday gives us all a good reason to have some fun with Mexican flavors in the kitchen! Here are some recipes that would be perfect for the occasion:

(Scroll down for links to each recipe.)

Matt and I are going to celebrate the holiday a few days late with a “Diez de Mayo” potluck party. We’re going to provide margaritas along with rotisserie chicken and pork carnitas tacos for our friends and then they’ll bring additional dishes with them. I can’t wait!!

Our Fiesta invitation postcards for Diez de Mayo

Do you have any special party or food plans for Cinco de Mayo? Please tell me about them in the comments section! šŸ™‚

Recipe Links for the Cinco de Mayo Dishes shown above:
Pork Tinga Tacos • Margaritas on the Rocks • Chorizo-Bean Tortas
Rotisserie Chicken Burritos • Poblano Sausage Tacos • Frozen Strawberry Margaritas
Salsa Verde Enchiladas • Pozole Verde • JalapeƱo Garlic Chicken Quesadillas

Frozen Strawberry Margaritas

Here’s a tasty little frozen drink recipe that we whipped up this afternoon after a long day at work.Ā  We’ve been having a heat wave here (today the weather has ‘cooled down’ to about 90°) so anything involving ice sounds good to us!Ā  This recipe is a blended, fruitier version of my Margaritas on the Rocks.

Frozen Strawberry MargaritasĀ  (makes 2 drinks)

You will need…
5 cups Ice Cubes
5 oz. Silver Tequila
1.5 oz. Triple Sec
3.5 oz. Lime Juice (I use Nellie & Joe’s Key Lime Juice)
2 oz. Simple Syrup (1/2 part sugar and 1/2 part water that’s been boiled together and cooled)
12-15 Strawberries, leaves removed
Lime, to garnish

Directions:
Place the ice cubes in a blender and blend until the ice is partially chopped.Ā  (My blender has an “ice crush” setting that does a good job of breaking up the ice so I use this setting.)Ā  Add the tequila, triple sec, lime juice, simple syrup and strawberries and blend until the strawberries are completely incorporated.Ā  Pour into a glass and garnish with a lime wedge.Ā  Enjoy!

Margaritas on the Rocks

Here’s another delicious summer-inspired recipe: Margaritas!Ā  I never liked tequila very much until our neighbors, Jack and Julie, invited us over for a BBQ last summer.Ā  While we chatted Jack whipped (well, shook) up some wonderful margaritas and served them to us in salt-rimmed glasses.Ā  What a great summer drink!Ā  Afterwards we looked for our own margarita recipe and came up with these.Ā  I can’t remember exactly where I found the recipe online but it may have been from the Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Juice web site…

Margaritas on the RocksĀ  (makes 2 drinks)

You will need…
5 oz. Silver Tequila
1.5 oz. Triple Sec
3.5 oz. Lime Juice (you can juice fresh limes or just use Nellie & Joe’s Key Lime Juice)
3.5 oz. Simple Syrup (this is 1/2 part sugar and 1/2 part water; boil them together and allow to cool.Ā  I keep a bottle of homemade SS in the fridge.)
Lime Wedge, to garnish
Salt for Glass Rims, if desired

Directions:
Pour the liquid ingredients in a shaker with a few ice cubes.Ā  Shake thoroughly and pour into glasses filled with ice (and rimmed in salt if desired).Ā  Garnish with a lime wedge and enjoy!