Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Being from San Diego, the fifth of May holds special significance to me, it's not just the commemoration of the Mexican army's unlikely victory over the French, it's a day you get to pig out on Mexican food and drink Coronas!



Which is EXACTLY what I did!


Tall, frosty, with a lime wedge and some salt. The only way I drink them.


Delicious homemade carne asada, guacamole, and spanish rice, with a hearty dash or two of Tapatio.

Salud!

Carne Asada:

2 pounds flank or skirt steak
Olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Marinade:
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño chile pepper, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon cumin (fresh is best, obvi)
1 large handful fresh cilantro, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup olive oil

Grill, chop, and serve in corn tortillas with guacamole, and hot sauce.

Taqueria La Guerita, Tecate, Mexico

Can't sleep, must blog.

This shall be my FIRST EVER INTERNATIONAL POST! Zomg!



Today I crept below the International border into Tecate, Mexico for a various amount of reasons of which none are really important. (No, I did not go to smuggle drugs.) But one very awesome thing occurred and that was I had some amazing street food. Now I'm sure the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about eating in Mexico, is one; "Don't drink the water!" which is followed shortly thereafter by; "I hope it was worth the (insert horrible food related illness of your choice here)!"

Well I can tell you that I didn't drink the water, and that 12 hours later I'm still going strong on not having any side effects of the brief love affair I had this afternoon.


My mom took me to this place called, "Taqueria La Guerita", or if you are my mother, "The red place across the street from the chicken place". Both are correct. It's a TINY hole in the wall taco stand in the heart of Tecate and they might just have the best street tacos I've ever had in Mexico or The States.


Aren't those just beautiful? Look at that guacamole! OMG. And for 12 pesos (roughly just under a dollar) , the price isn't too bad either. I also got a flour quesadilla.


The whole meal cost me about 35 pesos, and I was a very happy camper. I love living so close to such amazing Mexican food!

Taco Salad ala berta

I've been struggling to come up with new ideas for meals and snacks with what I have in the house right now. I'm going out of town to LA for a few days to work, and it seems silly to shop for food and have it sit around if I'll be gone.

So as we were using up the last of the stuff in the fridge we decided to make tacos, again... and since last time it was SOOOO calorie laden, I ran to the store, bought some lettuce, some more tortillas and some chicken breasts to use instead of ground beef.

I decided to make a taco salad instead of traditional tacos and save myself some calories by pouring on the veggies. It turned out really well I think.



I started out by just putting the chicken breast into a small pan, and covering the lid. No extra oils, or greases, just naked chicken on a non stick Teflon-esque surface. Once the chicken started to turn white all over, and brown on one side, I vigorusly seasoned one side with taco seasoning, and flipped it over to do the same on the other. I then added just a bit of water to help steam the chicken and make a saucy mix of seasons and put the lid back on.



We make tacos a lot so at Costco we bought a giant tub of the stuff. It's got like minuscule calories, so unless you plan on eating it out of the tub with a spoon, I think we're ok.

After the chicken was done, I let it cool a bit and shredded it. Next I took a flour tortilla shell and flattened it out, and spread about 1/4 cup of beans on top of it, and topped that with a pinch or 2 of shredded cheese, letting it melt. Next came the chicken, and then I topped it with loads of lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, and onions.




If you do it right, it should look like that.

For a taco salad dressing I took 2 tbsp of sour cream, a tsp of milk, a shake or 2 of taco seasons and a couple shakes hot sauce and mixed it all together. I like my sauce with a little more kick, so I added extra hot sauce and then drizzled it over the top.



It was pretty big, so I had to use a knife to cut it to eat it. It was super yummy, and I might just eat all my homemade tacos this way from now on. I didn't miss the ground beef at all and the chicken actually tasted a lot better, plus its a lot healthier and less greasy than beef.




If anyone else has any good recipes for lower cal tacos, let me know, I'd love to try some out!