Happy Cinco de Mayo! Today I saw a bunch of guys dressed up as a Mariachi band and performing at Provo High School. Today at work, we celebrated by having a pot luck (my idea). I am not so sure why we celebrate.... they don't even celebrate in Mexico. In September however, they have a huge celebration for their Independence Day. So why do we celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Not sure... an excuse to party and eat Mexican food? I'll take it!
For our pot luck, I just signed up to bring rice and beans... but then Alex (one of my co-workers) who is from Mexico challenged me to make a real authentic Mexican dish. If I was going to make beans, he suggested I make Frijoles Charros! I like to cook new things and I am always up for a challenge, so I took the challenge! When I first started cooking, I was a little frightened by all of the meat that went into this bean dish. However, when it was all done, it looked and smelled delicious. Although I am normally confident in my cooking abilities, for some reason I was nervous with how this was going to turn out, if it was going to be like what Alex ate in Mexico. He told me it needed to be soupy, but not watery. When I was done it was neither. That night I had a dream that I brought the dish to work and Alex was telling me it was not soupy enough and that I needed to add this and that to make it better. Ha! Turns out, it was delicious and everyone loved it. In fact, I was hoping I would get to bring more home than I did for my roommates. The guys were going back for seconds and thirds! Its A LOT of meat, but it was great and approved by Alex which = authentic.
So.... if you are ever craving Mexican food with A LOT of meat involved, I would recommend this recipe.
Frijoles Charros
1 Pound cooked beans (canned or dried)
1/4 lb or less chopped ham
1/4 lb or less chopped hot dog
1/4 lb or less chopped bacon
1/4 lb Chorizo
2 or 3 Jalapeno or Serrano Chilies
1/2 large or 1 small onion chopped
1 Tomato chopped
1/2 Bunch of cilantro
Pepper
Oil
Heat oil in pot large enough to fit all ingredients. Fry Chorizo. Add bacon, onion, chilies, hot dog and ham. Saute for a couple of minutes. Then add tomato and cilantro. Cook 2 more minutes. Add beans and pepper.
This should be soupy, but not watery. If not soupy enough, add a little bit of water, tomato puree and salt.
HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!!
4 comments:
yumm, that looks delish. I love Cinco de Mayo! Thanks for sharing :)
We'll add this dish to our rice and bean collection. Thanks!
What the heck is chorizo?
They DO celebrate cinco de mayo in Puebla, Mexico. Because that town beat the French on the 5th of May at some point in history. But you are right, the rest of Mexico doesn't celebrate it.
I can vouch for this recipe. It's good stuff!! :) Especially when made late at night...! Ha.
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