Or however you spell that funny sound associated with hispanic heritage..... call me stereotypical it's okay. Anyways, on to the point of this post. I have never really dabbled in mexican food because I know a lot of people who do it much better than I do - i.e. I can just enjoy their food when they have the husband and I over or when they bring their delicious tacos/enchiladas/taquitos/etc... to church or something.....
Also, my husband is from Southern California. Not sure if that means anything to you, but having grown up in Santa Ana (if you can't tell by the name, it was predominantly mexican) makes him quite the connoisseur and has always left me quite intimidated. That is until we happened upon a little mexican food stand (yes those are legal in Florida - if you're local, I'll let you in on the secret) several months ago. My husband swears to it's authenticity and after having eaten there several times I decided it was time to try to duplicate their staples - soft tacos with cilantro, sweet onion, mozzarella cheese, & lime + homemade guacamole and homemade salsa. I guess I was feeling pretty bold and decided I might as well go down in flames if I was going to try at all. Without further ado, here is what I came up with - oh and according to my dear husband, it was a smashing success and I quote "out-did myself." How's that for a first timer? I was so happy to watch him eat five, yes five, tacos + chips & salsa..... that in itself is a testament if I do say so myself.
Homemade Salsa Ingredients
- 2 beef steak tomatoes
- 1/4-1/2 green jalapeno pepper
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
- 1/4 sweet onion
- 1/2 fresh lime
- 1 small clove fresh garlic
- pinch salt
Prepare:
- Dice tomatoes in eighths
- Rough chop onion
- Rough chop 1 handful cilantro, remove stems
- Rough chop 1/4 jalapeno & remove seeds (start with a fourth)
- Puree tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno in blender or food processor
- Peel garlic, mash with knife, add to blender/processor
- Add pinch of salt and blend again
- If you want more heat, add another 1/4 jalapeno & a few seeds
- Taste again to make sure all flavor
Homemade Guacamole Ingredients
- 2 regular sized avocados
- 1/2 fresh lime
- salt
Prepare:
- Cut avocados in half - peel & remove pit
- Remove seeds from lime, squeeze over avocado
- Mash with fork
- Salt to taste
The Rest of the Fixings
- small corn tortillas *MUST BE CORN*
- mozzarella cheese
- fresh cilantro - minced
- fresh lime wedges
- diced sweet onion
- tortilla chips
- shredded grilled chicken - add lime juice at last minute
Prepare Your Taco
- Heat corn tortillas in skillet or microwave with damp paper towel
- Pile desired amount of chicken on tortilla
- Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over chicken
- Spoon on homemade salsa & guacamole
- Sprinkle fresh cilantro
- Squeeze lime wedge over top
- Roll and close - stuff and enjoy
- Best enjoyed with chips & salsa on the side
This may sound like a lot of ingredients, but it cost me about 10 dollars , not including chicken since we already had some on hand. This would be a great meal to prepare a day in advance for a party, all you would have to do is heat the chicken through, heat up the tortillas, and plate the toppings. Pretty easy but so so tasty and a cinch to prepare. Let me know if you try it! I can see it becoming a staple in our house - husband approved.
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