Cinco de Mayo is coming! The celebration of Mexican heritage is held on―duh―May 5. Commonly mistaken for Mexico’s Independence Day, Cinco de Mayo actually commemorates The Battle of Puebla, a turning point in Mexican freedom, democracy and history.
In the U.S., the holiday often represents the official breaking of winter weather, and a day when we celebrate Mexican culture and heritage. Americans love to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Mexican food and beverages. Have a little celebration of your own this year! Here are some great ideas to inspire you:
Moon-a-rita – Make yourself a frozen margarita – flavored, if you like – and fill a big glass halfway. Be careful not to overfill, because when you insert the beer bottle, it’ll be more likely to spill out the sides. Invert and insert a bottle of beer. The recipe creator used Blue Moon, but Dos XX or Corona would work equally well. Garnish with a lime, and enjoy! (This one is obviously just for the grownups!)
Mini piñatas – This is a great activity you can involve the kids in. Take two paper cones and cut off the very tips. For the top cone, tie a loop of ribbon, with a fat knot at the end, and feed the loop through the hole in the cone. This is what you’ll hang your piñata from. Using glue, attach lengths of cut ribbon through the tip of the bottom cone, creating a festive fringe. Then fill the cones with treats and trinkets, and carefully attach them together, using hot glue. Decorate!
Cinco de Mayo dessert-o – These funky tacos may look like dinner, but one taste and you’ll know it’s dessert! Each element of a delicious taco has been redefined in dessert form, from the ground beef (crushed Oreos) to the lettuce and cheese (colored coconut flakes) to the tomatoes (cherries). Even the tortillas aren’t really tortillas, they’re sweet folds of cookie dough baked over wedges of tinfoil!
Easy chicken enchiladas – Speaking of dinner, even on a holiday we can’t have dessert without dinner! Check out this simple recipe for enchiladas. They’re so good, no one will know they were easy. Just shred your cooked, seasoned chicken breasts, and mix with some enchilada sauce, cheese and cilantro. Fill a tortilla and roll into enchilada shape. Bake for a while, then add remaining sauce and cheese. Bake again. Of course, the recipe has a few more steps, but it really is about as easy as it sounds.
Corona popsicles – This tutorial couldn’t be any more of a breeze. Open a beer, pour it into a mold or cup, and center a popsicle stick. Then freeze. What could be easier? If you want to get fancy, maybe add a slice of lime and a dash of coarse kosher salt for garnish and extra yumminess. The author cautions you to make a lot of these – they go fast! (This one is just for grownups, too. The alcohol will not freeze out. Make some non-alcoholic popsicles for the under-21 crowd.)
