Fiesta!

We got hit with a late winter storm today, so it was necessary for us to head south for our dinner inspiration tonight. Obviously, this menu has been inspired by Tex-Mex influences, rather than being an authentic Mexican meal, but it was still enjoyed by all. My normally picky esposo even went back for seconds.

More snow? Why?

Isn't spring supposed to be hopping in soon?

The ingredients for a salsa. This was my first time making salsa from scratch. I ended up using the juice of 1/2 lime and I finely minced 1/2 of the chile for the salsa. Diced red onion and a pinch of kosher salt were also added.

Since my family does not appreciate very spicy foods, I carefully removed the seeds and the white membrane. Perhaps someone would kindly tell me what this variety of chile is? The grocery store did not feel it necessary to identify the chiles they were selling.

And we have the finished salsa.

Mid-afternoon I decided that I didn't want to use a taco seasoning packet, so a quick search on-line revealed a few simple homemade taco seasoning mixes.

I made my own mix, with 1 teaspoon each: dried onion, salt, garlic powder, dry oregano, ground cumin, ground cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon paprika and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. I only had whole cumin on hand, so I used a small ladel to hand smash the seeds.

Homemade taco seasoning. I used about half of this mixture to season one pound of cooked ground beef.

I set up the meal buffet-style. I found tostada bowls at the grocery store. I liked these because there were no artificial ingredients, no preservatives or added salt in the bowls. I could feel good about serving these to my family.

I chopped and rinsed some romaine lettuce, sliced a celery stem, grated a carrot, diced some onion, chopped some sugar snap peas, and used the remaining bit of jicama that I had.

I did use shredded sharp cheddar cheese and I put out some sour cream and a bottle of ranch dressing for toppings.

This is my plate. Delicioso!