Common misconceptions
Cinco de Mayo is coming up, and many Americans of different ethnicities will celebrate this Mexican holiday with tequila, cervezas and traditional Mexican food. Many Americans believe that May 5 is Mexico’s independence day, but that’s not true. Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of the day the outnumbered Mexican army defeated the French.
The holiday isn’t widely celebrated in Mexico, but Mexican Americans and gringos alike celebrate in the U.S. to honor Mexican heritage.
Dinners for Cinco Dollars
Many holidays really come down to the food. But there’s no need to get an online payday loan just so you can fund your Cinco de Mayo celebration. Here are five great Mexican recipes from 5dollardinners.com that will feed your family or friends for $5 or less.
1. $5 Tacos
3/4 lb Ground beef, shredded chicken or ground turkey ($1.26)
Taco Seasoning Packet (free or $.45)
Taco Shells or Tortillas ($.50)**
1/2 – 1 cup lettuce, shredded ($.25)
1/2 tomato, chopped ($.50 or free from garden!)
1/2 onion, chopped ($.30)
Salsa ($.40)
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese ($.42)
3-4 Corn Cobs ($.75-$1)
Directions
1. Cook meat. Add taco seasoning. Place meat into taco shells/tortillas. Top with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, salsa and cheese.
2. Boil corn cobs 5-7 minutes.
Cost $4.83
2. Bacon and Egg Quesadillas
Ok, so this is a bit of a twist on a “traditional” Mexican dish, but your guests will love it!
Ingredients
6 strips of bacon ($.65)
6-8 eggs ($1.05)
1 cup shredded cheese ($.84)
8 Tortillas ($1.09), use natural corn tortillas for gluten free
Salsa ($.25)
2 Pears ($1)
Directions
1. Cook bacon in skillet on stove top. Remove and place on paper towel to drain excess fats. Pour most of the fat from the skillet.
2. Scramble eggs in skillet that you cooked the bacon in. This way you don’t need to add salt, as it’s already in the bacon. Might not be the healthiest, but its certainly the tastiest!
3. Place tortilla on cookie sheet, top with scrambled eggs, bacon strips and sprinkle cheese on top. Place another tortilla on top. Bake at 300 for 10 minutes, until cheese melts and tortillas are slightly crispy. Remove and slice quesadillas into quarters. Serve with salsa and sliced pears or other fresh fruit!
3. Black Bean Soup with Corn
Ingredients
1 cup dried black beans ($.45)
1-2 cups of homemade chicken broth (or vegetable broth if Vegetarian) (free!)
1 onion, finely chopped ($.30)
2 garlic cloves (or 1 tsp garlic powder) ($.10)
1 12 oz jar salsa or can of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles ($1)
2 Tbsp lemon juice ($.05)
1 tsp ground cumin ($.05)
Dollop of sour cream ($.25)
Shredded cheese (optional)
4 ears of corn ($.76)
Directions
1. Soak beans overnight in lukewarm water or for at least 2 hours in HOT water. Drain and rinse. Add to large saucepan and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, until beans are tender. Once cooked, strain off liquid and return beans to saucepan. Mash beans with potato masher. (If you wish to use canned beans, use 3 cans of black beans without the liquid.)
2. Add broth, chopped onion and garlic, salsa, lemon juice, cumin. Stir through about cook for about 15-20 minutes. Simmer longer for a thicker soup. Top with dollop of sour cream and/or shredded cheese.
3. Remove husk and threads from corn. Boil 4-5 minutes in large saucepan. Serve hot with butter!
4. Serve Black Bean Soup with Fresh Corn Cobs!
Cost $2.96
4. Beef Enchiladas
Ingredients
10 corn tortillas ($.69)
1/2 lb ground sirloin ($.90)
1/2 onion, chopped ($.15)
2 cups cheese ($1.50)
Enchilada Sauce ($.25)
1 cup frozen corn ($.75)
1/4 cup dried black beans ($.10)
1/4 cup salsa ($.15)
Directions
1. Sauce: Heat oil with cornstarch in saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 1 minute. Add in chili powder and cook for another minute. Gradually stir in the broth, mixing well with a whisk to make sure you get out the lumps. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Simmer until thickened on low.
2. Brown the ground sirloin with chopped onion. Drain fat. Put back into skillet and add 1 cup of enchilada sauce.
3. In baking dish, spread about 1/2 cup of sauce. Then place tortilla open. Add ground beef/sauce in line in middle of tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll up tortilla. Repeat using all tortillas and beef sauce. Spread remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.
4. Bake 15 – 20 minutes at 350 until cheese melts and sauce is “bubbly.”
5. Cook frozen corn as directed.
6. Soak beans. Then boil 1.5 – 2 hours until tender. When done cooking, cool by running cold water over them in a strainer. Mix with corn and salsa for a great side dish.
5. Lentil Burritos
Ingredients
1 cup rice, uncooked ($.20)
1 cup green lentils, uncooked ($.50)
1/2 of an onion, finely chopped ($.20)
1 small can Muir Glen tomato paste (free!)
1 packet Taco Seasoning
1 bag corn or flour tortillas ($.69-$1.29)
1 cup shredded cheese ($.75)
Salsa or sour cream or other favorite Mexican garnish ($.50)
1/2 bag Cascadian Farm frozen corn ($.75)
Directions
1. Bring 2 1/4 of water to a boil. Add 1 cup of rice. Return to boil. Then reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes until rice is done.
2. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup lentils. Cook lentils in 4 cups of water for 20-30 minutes until tender. Drain off excess water.
3. Combine cooked rice and lentils in large saucepan. Add tomato paste + 2 tomato paste cans worth of water. Stir through. Add onions, seasoning packet or spices. Let simmer about 10 minutes. Check on it to make sure it doesn’t get too “dry”.
4. Spoon lentil-rice mixture into tortilla. Add shredded cheese. Wrap up burrito style!
5. Cook frozen corn as directed. Serve as side dish or inside the burrito.
These are some great recipes. Some of the prices seem a little bit suspect – a pound of ground beef for $1.80 seems drastically low, as it’s normally closer to twice that anywhere else – but the website is really good at coming up with good recipes on the cheap, beyond just college student style fare – a lot of pasta, a lot of rice – and on the cheap, too. $5 dollar dinners is great.
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