A 40th Fiesta!

My Bubba turned 40 last weekend. For those of you who don't know, my Bubba is my big brother (Randy).

His wish was a birthday fiesta a la mexicana.

We had a blast! We had the party at his church fellowship hall (so that meant no margaritas) but we had a great time. We served grilled steak, grilled chicken, peppers & onions, mexican rice, refried beans, tortillas, and a taco bar for the lil' ones.

After the festivities we had piñatas for the kids.

It's a party that Bubba won't forget any time soon!

Superbowl Preparations

Let me start by saying that we (meaning the Otero family) are not really American football fans. No, we like the other type of football. I hear you now asking "What? You mean that there is another type of football?" Yes, I am afraid so, but not to worry, tomorrow we WILL be celebrating and watching the Superbowl like the millions of crazed fans that do this every year. We are watching it this year (for the first time, believe it or not) in memory of one of those crazed fans. To make a long story short, the son of a very dear friend of mine passed away recently and he was a fan of the GB Packers. I know he has a much better seat to view the game than we do. So this year we are watching the game in his honor.

I have planned out a menu of Superbowl snacks that are (for the most part) WLS friendly. I'm going to share one with you so that you can enjoy it too.

Many people ask me about Mexican restaurant salsa. There are 2 main ways to make it: 1. involves using all fresh ingredients (time consuming) 2. involves using some canned ingredients (quick & easy). They are both good and the end result is the same. Here is my version. I think you'll like it.

First let me show you the participants:

You will need a large can of whole tomatoes, 2 cans of Rotel (or equivalent), cilantro, 1/2 large onion, 1 lime, 1 jalapeno, sugar, salt, and cumin (not pictured). Forgive me and my being frugal, but I try to buy store brand to save a penny or two.

First of all, get out your food processor (or blender).
Roughly chop up your half an onion.
Then chop up about a cup of cilantro. Leave it kinda leafy.

Chop the jalapeno too. (I didn't take pictures of this. I don't like to handle anything after chopping onions orpeppers.)

Open the cans of tomatoes and Rotel and pour them, juice and all, into the fp. Throw in the onion, jalapenos, and cilantro.

Now add 1/4 tsp of each of the following: sugar, salt, and cumin.


Now pulse the fp a few times.

Pulse it again.

And again. Until its the right consistency.

I personally do NOT like chunks in my salsa. I like it to have an even consistency.

This (for me) is just right.



This makes alot of salsa. Cut it in half if you want just enough for a few people. Make this ahead of time so that the flavors have time to love on each other. It will keep for several days in the fridge. I'm telling you now though, it's so good, it won't be around long enough to go bad.

Fix some for your family and friends and they will love you.


You're welcome! :O)

Tacos de Lengua (Tongue Tacos)

Yes, you read that right.

Tongue.

Bear with me people.

I promise it tastes just like roast beef. Really!

Many countries because of poverty (mainly) use all of the edible parts of an animal when it is killed. In Mexico the tongue is eaten (as well as other unmentionable parts).


My first time eating tongue tacos was when Luis and I were dating. He had prepared tongue before and offered it to me, but I never wanted to try it due to it looking weird. He never seemed offended...just determined. One day while we were out we stopped by a taqueria (place where tacos are made) and bought us a few for lunch. Luis ordered them and brought them out to the car to-go. I ate them (not knowing they were tongue) and really enjoyed them. When I finished Luis just grinned at me and asked how I liked the tacos. I said they were good. He then told me that they were made from cow's tongue. I have since prepared tongue at home and now enjoy occaisionally a tongue taco. Here is my recipe.


Take one fresh cow tongue.

Sorry, not quite THAT fresh.

That's better. One cow tongue (fresh or frozen) whatever floats your boat. Put it in a pot with a little beef broth and with a bay leaf and salt to season. Boil it for an hour or two.

Remove it from the pot when it is thoroughly cooked and looks like this. (yummy huh?)

Get yourself two of these primative-looking tools.

With the forks and maybe a knife (if needed) pull off the outer layer of skin and gristle on the tongue. See the yummy roast-beef looking meat under there?

This is what it should look like when you're done peeling it. Now shred it up with the forks.

This is what you'll have when you're finished. The meat is edible now but is very soft in texture ( like boiled meat tends to be). Put it in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. Fry it until it begins to get crispy on the edges. Salt it if needed.

Wash, then chop the cilantro and onion together. Slice the lime into wedges.

Heat some corn tortillas and pile some meat into it.

Top off the taco with a little cilantro and onion, a squeeze of lime and a dash of salt. Enjoy!

Now, that wasn't so bad was it? ;)