Can you stand to look at how excited I was?
Gringo Fiesta kicked off on February 18th.
This is officially the greatest made up holiday ever created.
And I don't just say that because I made it up
Friends came over. ...Although, a few of you managed to evade the camera for the second year in a row. And I can't imaging why, since I am such an incredibly gifted photo taker and all ;)
But seriously, you'd better get in there next time, so that when y'all become rich and famous, I can have some proof that we are friends.)
Tomatillo Salsa was consumed in massive quantities. You should make some. It is excellent...and dare I say, better than the tomatillo salsa at Pollo de Feliz. And if you went to Pollo Feliz and took a good look at the folks dining there, well then you would believe me when I tell you that Pollo Feliz knows how to get their salsa on. The dude in front of us in line was actually giddy with delight when he placed his order. He looked back at us and with fingers wiggling impatiently in front of him (like a child does when you take too long to unwrap a popcicle for them), he clapped extatically, "Ooooh, I'm so ready for this. You just can't go wrong with the chicken at Pollo Feliz." I stepped up to the counter next and said, "I want whatever that guy ordered."
When I tasted their tomatillo salsa, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Granted, I had just ran 15 miles in the snow and was totally starving, but whatever. It was delicious.
And thanks to Kasey and Jimmie, we now have the recipe. Make it. Eat it. Enjoy.
Mustaches appeared.
and luckily, there were no hair fires at this gathering...although the guys sort of do look like they'd been "burning" something. Just sayin'...
But I'm guessing it was along the lines of heartburn from all the spicy goodness we put in our faces.
We did it. We ate Mexican Food for 10 days straight.
Here's the menu:
(These are in no particular order after Day 1)
1) Shredded beef (for tacos, burritos, whatev), black beans and tomatillo salsa
Directions:
Sear a chuck roast in a frying pan for a few minutes on high heat. Before adding the roast, I threw 2 TBS of olive oil, 2-3 tsp of minced garlic and 2 TBS of Caldo De Pollo into the pan.
Transport roast to crockpot on Low.
Add 2 cups beef broth, 1 bay leaf, 2 jalapenos halved and seeded (I left a few in for a slight kick), 1TBS lime juice, and 1 small can of diced green chilies. Slow cook for 7 hours or until the roast shreds easily with a fork. It helps tenderize the meat if you flip the roast over in the liquid after about 2-3 hours. Drain excess liquid and serve with black beans.
We also ate Kasey's delicious Chipotle Chicken Salad,
2) SantaFe CPK pizzas with black beans, avocado, and cilantro lime chicken,
3) Fish Tacos with mango topping
Place boneless tilapia fillets on a sheet of foil and sprinkle with a dash of garlic salt. Place one butter pat (thin) on each fillet, and give each a healthy squirt of lime juice. Fold and close the foil around the fish so it makes a large loose envelope.
Grill on medium hi for 6-8 minutes, or until the fish is flakey.
Mango topping: dice 2 roma tomatoes,1 mango, 1/4 red onion and half of a peeled cucumber. mix with 1 tbs olive oil, lime juice, minced garlic, and a LOT of fresh cilantro. Spoon over fish, or serve with fish in warmed corn tortillas with avocado slices and more limes. Mmmmm limes....
4) 7 layer burritos
Ground beef, tomatoes, spanish rice, cheese, refried beans, Fold into Abuela's tortillas that have been cooked fresh on the griddle. Spray the burrito with canola oil spray, and sear the burrito on the hot griddle to crisp up the edges and melt all the contents inside. Serve with an avocado topping (whip together avocado, sour cream, a dash of garlic salt and a squirt of lemon juice).
5) Chicken Tortas and pina coladas
a torta is a sandwich with a shredded beef, chicken, or pork filling, onions (we leave them out), cheese, and avocado slices on grilled bread...and by "grilled" I mean the bun is opened, slathered with butter (or brushed with that melty butter stuff like what they put on your popcorn at the movies) and placed face down on a hot griddle. We stuffed our tortas with pepper jack cheese, avocado and leftover shredded beef from the first night.
The pina coladas were a big hit with the girls, as were the sugar rimmed glasses (thanks for the mix, Missie!)
6) Fajita Quesadillas and berry margaritas
We used cilantro lime chicken (I grilled and extra breast on pizza night), black beans, sauteed red pepper, and pepper jack cheese.
The berry margaritas were from a mix (thanks, Missie!) and we mixed it with sprite.
7) Taquitos (yep. the frozen kind. I had school that night. it counts.)
We like the El Monterey chicken and cheese taquitos and we eat them with (and only with) Tostitos Restaurant Style medium salsa (thank you darcie for bringing both of these into my life).
8) One Dish Mexican Casserole (---now, my neice jordan's fave!)
This recipe comes from Ashley and Joseph Danes, who were friends of ours when we lived in Boise. When Aaron had his blood clots, they brought us this dinner the night we came home from the hospital. Yes. It's a casserole, and we freaking love it. Don't knock it 'till you've tried it.
9) Taco Salad with pita chips and salsa crema dressing.
This recipe is adapted from a Body For Life recipe.
Brown ground turkey and seasonw with McCormick taco seasoning according to the packet directions. serve with hearts of romaine, kidney or pinto beans, avocados, cheese, tomatoes, whole wheat pita chips and salsa crema.
salsa crema: wisk together equal parts softened cream cheese and fat free sour cream. Add 1 tsp seasoning from the taco packet, and enough salsa to thin the mixture into a dressing. Delish.
homemade pita chips: use a pizza cutter to slice whole wheat pita bread into trianglar (like you would slice a pizza) "chips". Spray/brush with water and sprinkle with coarse ground sea salt. Broil on Low until slightly crispy. Beware of overcooking, they'll be gross if they crisp for too long. Leave them in the broiler just long enough to dry them into chips. 2 minutes. (hahaha "twoo minutes.") This is the BEST substitute for tortilla chips on a salad. So much more flavor. Yummy.
10) Carne Con Chile
This recipe comes from Elena Grover. It's one of our favorites, especially because it freezes so beautifully. We eat it most often diced zucchini or yellow squash in it, served over spanish rice (and the leftover rice was used up in the 7 layer burritos).
Sautee 1 1/2 c jasmine rice in 1 tbs butter. Cook until the rice is sort of translucent color and it smells very fragrant. Add 2 c chicken broth (made with caldo de pollo is best) and 1 cup of pureed salsa (I use a mini prep and blend until it is a thin liquid). Lookout when adding the broth to the pot...it will bubble and sizzle a lot because of the butter...don't get burned. Add 1 tsp minced garlic. Cover, reduce heat to med low and let simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. I've found that with the jasmine rice, I need an extra 1/4 cup of water or broth for cooking.
Add corn, cilantro, dash cumin, and a dash of curry. Enjoy!
So keep your eyes open throughout the year for really good recipes. Gringo Fiesta is a celebration of all foods from south o' the border. So send me your recipes, or start preparing to host your own Gringo Fiesta celebration next year. We're starting a movement.And check it out....GringoFiesta (yes, one word...FB apparently thinks we're racist and doesn't like the word Gringo, so it's all one word) is now on facebook. Become a fan! When the Gringo Fiesta movement takes off, I want to be recognized as the founder: just a hungry girl that doesn't like winter. Also you should become a fan because it is cool.
I also really love that this has become a tradition for our family. Growing up, I loved that my parents had silly little traditions that we did every year. Like arond the last week of April, when the straberry stands are open, we'd buy a flat of strawberries, smash them, add a mountain of sugar and have strawberry waffles topped with whipped cream for dinner. And sometimes, a whipped cream fight would break out. (Mom-didn't you find 10 year old whipped cream stains inside the cabinets when you remodeled?)
Now, I can't resist making strawberry waffles (topped with 1/2 a can of reddi whip) every Spring when the fresh strawberries arrive in the market.
I hope my kids will remember (and continue) Gringo Fiesta nights when they are older.
Ole Gringos!
Provide 8 x 10 photos of various forms of transportation for a memory match game!
I was not surprised by how soaked corbin got, though! he was drenched within minutes.
Yellow + Blue = Green!
The sponges were a big hit. The kids are going to die with excitement in a few weeks when they find out I bought a pack of sea creature sponges for Under the Sea week, coming up! I think the tiny shapes would be great for stamping with paint, or just gluing to a collage. 
Seated at the table (we did this as a group activity), the children took turns counting out the hearts from the sorted color bowls. As they counted them out, I made a tally mark for each one onto the chart next to the heart with the corresponding color. When we finished, everyone got a purple candy heart, because that's the color that "won" for having the most.
I love mother, she loves me