Easy Cinco De Mayo Taco Recipes

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on a large scale here in the United States AND here in the Cornwell household. People of Mexican descent in the US enjoy Cinco de Mayo by celebrating their Mexican heritage in traditional ways. The day is often filled with Mexican food, parades, mariachi music, dancing and other types of cultural activities. We are neither Mexican nor of Mexican decent. But for us, Cinco de Mayo is just a great excuse to throw a party.

The food most common to all of Mexico is the corn tortilla. Corn originates from Mexico and is a staple there. During my visits to Mexico, I was surprised to find rustic cooking stands with women making corn tortillas on every street corner. These food stands offer tacos of all varieties, with both the hard and soft shells. It's fun to make these easy taco recipes, which I learned from the locals. And since tacos are the most common food in Mexico, they are the perfect Cinco de Mayo party meal (finished off with a cold Mexican beverage of course)!

For the Carnivores - Easy Beef Taco Recipe
Ingredients:
* 2 lbs ground beef**
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons chili powder
* 1 teaspoon cumin
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder or garlic salt - depending on preference
* 1/2 diced medium onion
* 12 (6 inch) corn tortillas
(**Alternatively, this could be a vegetarian dish by simply substituting TVP or Texturized Vegetable Protein for the ground beef)

Instructions:
In 2 quart sauce pan add ground beef (or TVP), salt, chili powder, garlic powder or salt and cumin. Just cover the ingredients with water, careful not to add too much. Bring to a boil. Simmer over medium to low heat about an hour. Next add the chopped onion and continue cooking for 20 - 30 minutes or until onions are just soft.

For the Herbivores - Easy Vegetarian Taco Recipe
Ingredients:
* 3 mashed avocados
* 1/2 cup diced medium onions
* 1 Tbsp fresh chopped garlic
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt (not powder, this dish needs the bite salt provides)
* 1 teaspoon cumin
* 12 (6 inch) corn tortillas

Instructions:
In a medium bowl, mash avocados, onions, chopped garlic, garlic salt, cumin and any other spices you enjoy together. Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper touching the concoction to prevent it from turning brown. Let the mix sit for at least an hour in the refrigerator until the flavors mesh.

For the shells, we use Food for Life Sprouted Corn Tortillas (which taste most similar to the shells I enjoyed during my Mexico visits). We simply warm the tortillas over a low flame in the frying pan until just warm. Add the meat or veggie mixture to one side of the soft corn tortilla, fold in half and serve.

If you are having a Cinco de Mayo party, consider preparing the following additions and allowing guests to build their own tacos:

Sides of rice and black beans
Shredded white or red cabbage
Shredded soy cheese
Shredded Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Pepper Jack, etc. cheese
Thinly sliced red, green or yellow onion
Shredded lettuce
Salsa
Guacamole or pitted and diced avocados
Sour Cream
Tomatoes, seeded and diced
Chopped cilantro leaves
Fresh limes cut into quarters
Mild green Jalapeño sauce
Hot sauce
Dried chili peppers

VIVA! el CINCO DE MAYO!!