Happy Cinco de Mayo {with menu!}

Hola mis amigos!

Besides painting and building stuff, I also like to cook. I love to cook, I love to BBQ and I love to do it with my kids. I am always telling people that I am not a chef, I just love to cook.  I don’t come up with amazing recipes on my own, but I’m really good at looking at 5 recipes for the same thing and adapting them all into my own creation. 

Here’s our little Cinco de Mayo menu:

~Grilled Chicken {with my own Cuban/Mexican/Central American flair}

~Shrimp on the Barbie {oh, wait, this is Cinco de Mayo…well we love all cultures}

~Rice {tonight’s is a little boring, but the kids LOVE it!}

~Beans {a new to me version, heavily adapted from one on Epicurious}

~Pico de Gallo salsa {my first one…recipe: by looking at the Cinco de Mayo table of produce at Whole Foods}

Here are the recipes {to the best of my ability to write them down} for you!

Chicken:

Marinate the following for at least an hour:

~Chicken thighs {if you have always been a lover of breasts, please consider giving thighs a chance…they are SOOOOOO delicious…..I won’t ever go back to breasts}

~olive oil {enough to get all your chicken coated}

~beer {as much as you want, baby!}

~chopped onion, garlic, 1/4 of a jalapeno {how ever much heat you can take}

~juice from a lime {or two?}

~dried oregano {a lot}

~dried basil {a little less than a lot}

~salt & pepper {I turned the dial on my grinders 15 times each}

BBQ for about 4 minutes per side {that’s with it on medium and the lid shut}

Before:

After: {YUM!}

Shrimp:

~peeled shrimp/prawns

~all of the above plus:

~tons of chopped cilantro {this is for sure going to be in our summer garden}

~more lime

~more jalapeno

~chili pepper flakes {we love it hot hot hot!}

~well, actually, I didn’t put oregano or basil into the shrimp marinade

BBQ for about 4 minutes per side, on medium, lid shut.

Beans:

~2 cans black beans, drained/rinsed {I’m learning to cook my own dry beans…it’s really very easy, but you have to plan ahead 24 hours…something I’m not so good at… yet.}

~2/3 of an onion, chopped {it was maybe 1 1/3 cups?}

~a can or two of chopped green chilies

~tons {maybe 7 or 8 cloves} of garlic, chopped

~olive oil…enough to coat the bottom of the pan and actually have a little height to it- 3 maybe 4 TBS

~1/2 cup chicken broth

~capful {1 TBS} dried oregano

~splash of vinegar {I used rice cause it’s what I had}

~squirt of honey {1 tsp}

~salt

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add onion & garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes.  Add beans, chilies, broth, oregano, honey, salt.  Just let it sit on the stove on med/low until dinner is ready. 

Rice:

I often attempt Spanish Rice of one version or another, but tonight I just did a half/half mixture of white and brown rice…used a little less water than it calls for…and the kids devoured it!

Pico de Gallo:

Chop and mix:

~5 tomatoes

~1/2 jalapeno

~juice from 2 limes

~a nice large handful cilantro

~1/2 onion

~2 garlic cloves

~salt

Bon Appetite!  ¡Buen provecho!