Tex Mex Success

As I mentioned yesterday, last night I had some friends over for a little mid-week fun for Cinco de Mayo. When I was planning the menu I decided to use Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen to find some recipes from fellow food enthusiasts. All of these recipes really wowed me and were fun to make. You should have seen the mess in the kitchen after my friend Ash and I finished rolling enchiladas. Its was epic. Yep, these were Epic Enchiladas. There were barely any leftovers when all was said and done.

The moment that I saw this recipe for Janelle's Famous Chicken Enchiladas I HAD to try it. While I was at work all day, the chicken was stewing in the sauce in my crockpot. When I got home I started to shred it apart with forks and they were so tender that they practically fell apart themselves. It was hard not to eat it right them and there, but we teamed up, filled the tortillas, rolled them up and poured the sauce over top. One of the easiest meals to make and it was even better than I expected.

And of course we had to put lots and lots of cheese on it. Cheese is good....real good :) Then it was a matter of popping it in the oven and waiting...which was the hardest part. Waiting for good food to come out and cool down is always the hardest part. Which would explain why I always burn myself biting into something hot. Why can't I just learn patience and wait?

We also had a vegetarian in the house, so it was the perfect opportunity to try out these Super Veggie Vegan Enchiladas from Kohler Created. Loaded with potatoes, zucchini and black beans, they were a nice variation from the chicken ones. Instead of buying enchilada sauce, I made my own using this recipe from Tasty Kitchen. It was not only ridiculousy easy, but it also let me play around with the spices a bit. I made it just a wee bit hotter than in called for and it turned out great.

This Cilantro-Lime Rice was a huge hit. One of my friends even said "you can make this any time you want and bring it over". I tried to tell him it was super easy to make but he wouldn't hear of it. In the time it took for the rice to cook, my friend Ash chopped up some jalapeno and cilantro, squeezed in a little lime juice, gave it a whirl in the blender and it was just a matter of stirring it into the rice when it was cooked. An easy and delicious side. Just the way I like it.

For dessert we decided to venture into the world of Empanadas and use this apple cinnamon version that I found at AllRecipes.com. They weren't as fantastic as I was hoping, but they were a nice finish to the big meal we ate.

And of course we had to wash it all down with a bit of Corona and some Passionfruit Margaritas. Any excuse for some beer and tequila mid-week is a good one to me :)

Whiskey was pretty happy for Cinco de Mayo too. It meant lots of head scratching, belly rubbing and hugs. I swear you would think he is neglected.

What did you do for Cinco de Mayo?

Some photos from Tasty Kitchen and Flickr