Well fiesta might be an overstatement, but Bryan and I had a friend over for dinner last week and I decided a Mexican inspired feast was in order. What to cook? Well, as I often do, I relied on a little help from my friends. I found all of the recipes I used on my favorite blogs and they were all delicious! Because our friend is allergic to dairy, it also allowed me to create an entire meal free of dairy products. As much as I love cheese, I have to admit that I didn’t miss it at all! Everything was delicious and I have included links to recipes below.

Fiesta Menu

Cranberry Salsa ***This is really unusual and really good, a popular post from the Homesick Texan. We ate it with chips and also put it on tacos.

Quick Tomato Salsa *** I had posted this a few months ago and have perfected the recipe and updated the post. It is SO SO much better with the addition of chipotle powder. It adds a smokiness that I didn’t know was missing. This is now the world’s best salsa (that can be prepared in under 5 minutes). I will never buy jarred salsa again, it has gone the way of bottled salad dressing. Seriously people, we don’t need those things in our lives!

Pickled Red Onions ***This is a simple version of pickled red onions, and the one I like best. I know there are others out there that are sweetened, or contain a whole host of spices but for me the vinegar and onions are perfect. Good with this meal but also good on a variety of foods or tossed in a salad.

Mexican Rice ***I hadn’t tried this before, but I really liked it. Easy too.

Shredded Chicken for Tacos ***I’ve been making this recipe for quite a while now, it is really delicious and makes lots of leftovers. I use a mix of chicken thighs and breasts. It is one of the few meat dishes I make.

In addition to all of that I served a bunch of delicious toppings for tacos. My favorites are: cilantro, avocado, radishes, pomegranate seeds.

For dessert I made these amazing gingersnaps from David Lebovitz’s blog. They are fantastic and FAT-FREE! I frosted them with a mix of powdered sugar and freshly squeezed orange juice. (Start with 2 cups of powdered sugar and squeeze in orange juice a teaspoon at a time until the desired consistency.) If you own an ice cream maker, David’s blog should already be high in your list of bookmarks. I always rely on The Perfect Scoop for all ice cream related questions, but his blog is a great resource too.