Home / Food Bites & Articles / Janet's Notebook

Cinco de Mayo Recipes to Get the Party Started

Mexican Gorditas

It’s fiesta time! Cinco de Mayo is a time to enjoy one of my favorite cuisine’s – Mexican food. I’m having a few girlfriends over this Cinco de Mayo and plan on munching on some Mexican appetizers and, of course, sipping a few margaritas. By the way, if you’re looking for a new margarita recipe, check out Bonnie ^O^’s (Pine Grove, CA) Ultimate Margarita. It’s fantastic.

“These gorditas are a favorite Mexico street food,” explains Juliann Esquivel (Florida City, FL). “These savory little pattie cakes are a great base for all types of toppings from pulled pork to shredded chicken, salsa, sour cream or crema Mexicana to chorizo with minced onion, queso fresco, and salsa.”

One bite of Juliann’s Mexican Gorditas (Little Fat Ones) (Gorditas Rellenas) and your taste buds will be transported to Mexico. The little gorditas are crunchy on the outside and slightly soft in the middle. These are incredibly delicious and addictive. They’re so good, you’ll want to double the recipe.

Juliann also has a recipe for guacamole that I love. What’s a Mexican night without guacamole? Juliann’s Chunky Guacamole with Cumin (Guacamole con Cumino) is simply delicious. “This guacamole has a subtle tartness, balanced heat and a creamy and chunky texture,” says Juliann. Cumin’s the secret ingredient here. It adds an unexpected earthy flavor to the guacamole.

Lisa Cox’s (Blountville, TN) loves her Mexican Pizza and I did too. It may not be traditional to eat pizza on Cinco de Mayo, but this has all the usual Mexican food flavors.

The thick layer of refried beans, taco meat and then topped with cheese all melt together to create a yummy pizza. I used the toppings Lisa suggests, but you could add fresh cilantro, black olives, diced yellow onion…the list is endless. This is a fun Mexican pizza recipe everyone will love!

“One neighbor refers to this Ranchero Layer Dip as the ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ dip,” shares Melissa Snow (Hillsboro, OR). Melissa’s recipe is a new twist on a layered taco dip.

The jalapeno bean dip on the bottom is a good choice, but what makes this really different is the sour cream layer. The sour cream is mixed with Miracle Whip and then taco seasoning adds great balance to the dip. There is a lot of flavor in each layer. Get out the tortilla chips and start dipping.

While the chips are handy, try Sue Stone’s Chili Con Queso. Whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant I always order queso. It’s a joke with friends that I’m a queso connoisseur. Sue’s recipe takes a popular queso recipe and brings it to a whole new level.

“A quick and easy cheese dip that is a family favorite,” says Sue. Packed with jalapenos and green chilies there’s a bit of heat. Feel free to cut back on the jalapenos if you like things less spicy.

Planning your own fiesta and looking for recipes? Check out our Fiesta Time collection. You’ll find recipes for everything from salsa to enchiladas and empanadas. Happy Pinching!