Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!  It's pretty sad that after taking close to 7 years of Spanish throughout high school and college, my main memory of May 5 is that it was a party day in school with food and no lessons (at least for my Spanish class that is).  I should have better remembrance of what the history of this date is and the importance behind it, but unfortunately my main recollections are of paella and flan. 

And since that is how I remember this day, that is of course how I expose my family to it - with food!  Tonight I tried a couple new recipes that all turned out really really good and here they are in case anyone is interested...

Southwestern Eggrolls

2 tbsp olive oil

1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half

2 tbps minced green onion

2 tbsp minced red bell pepper

1/3 cup frozen corn kernels

1/4 cup black beans, rinsed and drained

2 tbps frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

2 tbps diced jalapeno peppers

1/2 tbps minced fresh parsley

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/3 tsp salt

1 pinch ground cayenne pepper

3/4 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese

5 (6 inch) flour tortillas

* 1 quart oil for deep frying

Rub 1 tbsp oil over chicken breast. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook chicken approximately 5 minutes per side, until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from heat and set aside.  Heat remaining 1 tbps oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in green onion and red pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until tender. 

Dice chicken and mix into the pan with onion and red pepper. Mix in corn, black beans, spinach, jalapeno peppers, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until well blended and tender. Remove from heat and stir in Monterey Jack cheese so that it melts.

Wrap tortillas with a clean, lightly moist cloth. Microwave on high approximately 1 minute, or until hot and pliable.Spoon even amounts of the mixture into each tortilla. Fold ends of tortillas, then roll tightly around mixture. Secure with toothpicks. Arrange in a medium dish, cover with plastic, and place in the freezer. Freeze at least 4 hours (only refrigerated for an hour and they were fine). 

In a large, deep skillet, heat oil for deep frying to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Deep fry frozen, stuffed tortillas 10 minutes each, or until dark golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving.

*Or, bake at 400 20 min, spray with cooking spray and turn once (this is what I did).

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Fire Roasted Pineapple Salsa

1 c mayo

4 tbsp salsa

8 1/4 oz crushed pineapple (reserve juice)

2 tbsp pineapple juice

2 1/2 tbsp sugar

Mix well and refrigerate 2 hours.