Fav Things: Cinco de Mayo Style

We have had the best spring weather here in the unpredictable DFW so far. I guess you could say we have actually had a spring, which is nearly unheard of.

Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner and my Pinterest feed is already featuring ideas and recipes for a get together or party. I will be working on that day (and have way too much on my to do list to add anything else)! However, my husband and I will be making homemade tacos tomorrow. We didn’t really plan it for any special occasion. It was really because avocados and tomatoes were on sale when I went grocery shopping (and I can’t get enough of homemade tortillas. That’s the honest truth).

However, if I were to plan a Cinco de Mayo celebration, here are some ideas I would love to try:

Creamy and Refreshing Horchata

image from http://www.yummyhealthyeasy.com

I’ve made Horchata once, but it wasn’t super authentic. These appear more so. They were also super sweet, but tasty. I used the Martha Stewart recipe. The sweetness did add a wonderful touch when we splashed a little rum in for a treat after a hard day’s work.

Tacos and Homemade Tortillas

These are actually what we will be eating tomorrow. I made my own taco seasoning (using this recipe) recently, and you can tell a huge difference between it and the store bought. It’s surprising (also super cheap, easy, and way less salty).  This will also be my third time making my own tortillas! I found the recipe I love, and will be continuing to use, last time and I’m super excited to devour them once they are done.

Sides

Of course there would have to be some serious guacamole and salsa. I have been wanting to make my own salsa for a while now. It seems very straight forward. I’ve just been busy, lazy, distracted, sleeping, doing laundry (choose one?).

Decor

Decorations!? I guess that means I’d have to take down my few Easter pieces. Well not yet! But if I were to decorate, it would have to be these Cactus Pinatas from ohhappyday.com

image from ohhappyday.com

Pinterest Post Power!

I love Pinterest. I pin almost daily about foods I want to make, inspirational illustration and graphic design, things I love, future house ideas, and way too many more.

Problem is, I’ll never get to try all these amazing how to’s and ideas if I just keep pinning them. So I’m going to be proactive with my Pinterest. Instead of only drooling over amazing illustrations I come across, I’ve started sketching more. When I’m feeling stuck, I’ll browse through my inspirational pins and find one that is perfect for my mood and use it to jump start the sketch of the day. You can see some of my latest doodles on my instagram or twitter.

I’m also trying to bake, cook, and crockpot my way through the food pins that have been piling up.

Today I started out with a quick Spring Fruit Pudding.

I emptied a cheesecake flavored instant pudding packet into a mixing bowl with a can of pineapple and the juices. I stirred these two together until they were well blended. The mixture started to get thicker, almost like a pudding. Imagine that!

Next, I just added sliced bananas and strawberries and mixed it all up again.

As a final touch, I dashed some cinnamon on top and did a final stir. It has a great texture and the pudding just adds a nice flavor to the fruit. Surprisingly, it isn’t the hero to this dessert. The fruits themselves shine, and the pudding plays a nice supporting roll.

Noms

 

Since I was feeling peppy, I decided to knock out two food ideas today. The second one I crossed off my list was home made granola. You can find the original recipe here. Me being me, I changed the recipe a bit.

I combined 1.25 cups old fashioned rolled oats, a big dash of cinnamon, 4 tablespoons of shredded coconut, and a handful of craisins in one bowl. In a second bowl, I mixed 1/4 cup sugar free syrup and a half cup of cinnamon apple sauce. These two bowls got together, mixed things up, and became the start of some sweet granola.

I spread the mixture out in a pan that had been sprayed with Canola Oil and baked it for 15 minutes at 325. When that was done, I alternated mixing up the granola, breaking up the chunks, and cooking for 5-8 minutes until it was no longer soft and became more like real granola.

It’s going to be hard not to just eat the whole things in one sitting. Will probably at least double the recipe next time I make it.