en la cocina por CINCO DE MAYO!

Hola!  Me llamo es Margarita!  Not really, my name is Kim, but in high school we had to choose a "Spanish name" and Kim translates as....well, Kim ('Keem') and that was boring, so I chose Margarita!  Little did I know how important that name would become......mmmm, mar-gar-rriii-ta!! Trill those r's baby!  My absolute favorite beverage.  On the rocks.  With salt, please.  But as usual, I digress.  If my limited high school and college Spanish memories serve me correct, then my title says "in the kitchen for the 5th of May" aka Cinco de Mayo!  If I'm wrong, well, there's really no need to correct me.  haha.

Since I have a family full of non-adventurous eaters, I don't cook a lot of Mexican food.  Just the basics - tacos, enchiladas, etc.  Even then, they are very 'blanded down'.  I'm sure that's not the appropriate phrase, but you get my drift.  However, I did have a few things I wanted to share in honor of the day!

First of all, do you buy pre-packaged taco seasoning?  I always have, and never really gave any thought to what was in it.  Then one day, I had started preparing enchiladas and realized I didn't have a handy little packet that I really thought was sitting in the cabinet.  So....I thought, what spices do I need to make my own?  A little search gave me this recipe, and I just modified it to suit the sensitive taste buds in the house.  (I always spice my plate up a bit with red pepper flakes).  This worked out well, b/c you can control the level of spice, the sodium content, and no need for anything artificial or MSG.  Now, I just keep a little container of homemade taco seasoning!  Easy, peasy.

Next....guacamole!  I have a confession.  This is the first time I have ever bought an avocado.  So, obviously, the first time I've ever made guac, and only the second time I've even tried it!  If you haven't followed Mo'Betta from the beginning, you may not realize that I am very new on the journey of homemade vs. box cooking, and very recently (and slowly) learning to eat my veggies.  That message did not sink in as a child, regardless of how much my parents tried.  However, in becoming a parent myself, having a husband diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago, and having a child with food allergies...not to mention several extra pounds from all these babies....I knew our lifestyle had to change.  Anyway, back to the guacamole.  I have no idea if this turned out the way it's supposed to, b/c I don't eat it.  The first time I ever tried it was in college, and it was very bland, no 'flava'.  This, however, was delicious!  Take the main attraction....

add some fresh cilantro (to taste), a big sqeeze of lime, some salt and pepper...

and there you have it.  Some people add onion and tomato too.  I just kept it simple, since I added onions to my salmon tacos that I made the guac for.  It is so creamy, and a very good compliment to my tacos!

Not a great picture, but I was in too big a hurry to EAT!  This is just broiled salmon, seasoned with taco seasoning.  Super easy, and delicious.

We also like chicken or beef enchiladas.  I've found that if I put a thin layer of fat-free refried beans on the tortilla, the kids are none the wiser!  I like to sneak in extra veggies/protein/fiber whenever I can.

chicken flautas are also very mild, and pretty simple to prepare.  I'm not a big fan of corn tortillas however, which I used for this dish.  I usually buy the low carb/low fat flour tortillas.

So how are you celebrating Cinco de Mayo?!  I'd love to sit back and have a margarita.  BUT, I have to be out at school for my middle daughter's program at school tonight.  And I doubt the tequila would mix well with allergy medicine.  So if you do anything fun, make a toast to Mo'Betta :)

I'm linking up today with Feeding Four, It's a Keeper, Miz Helen's Country Cottage, and Think Tank Momma for Share a Spoon!