Cinco de Mayo Done Right!

I have a weekend recap post coming soon, but just couldn’t wait to share some Cinco de Mayo stuff with you all!

I may have mentioned at some point how much I LOVE Mexico! If you didn’t know before, now you know. 🙂 I studied abroad in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico for two semesters in college and it was one of (if not the best) experiences of my life thus far. It was life changing – I learned so much about myself, made a best friend I still have to this day (shout out to Emily Allen!), met some really awesome people, and just loved it! And (which was the whole point I guess) I learned to speak Spanish – I was fluent by the time I left.  I did get to use it in a couple jobs since then, but currently don’t speak any Spanish at all. That kind of makes me sad, but something I should work on changing.

Anyway, back to Cinco de Mayo (I could talk about Mexico forever and ever!) – if you didn’t know, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated not because of Mexican Independence Day (that’s September 16th) but because it’s the day the Mexican Army defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla during French occupation of Mexico in 1861.  Mexico was the underdog in the battle to say the least, so the fact that they prevailed was a sure victory to be celebrated! And there’s your history lesson for the day.

I generally don’t really celebrate Cinco de Mayo – either we’re busy doing something else or working – but when Noah and I talked about it last week we decided we should at least have some sort of Mexican dish for dinner.  Nachos are always a hit and we haven’t had them in a bit so now seemed like the perfect time. Here they are before the cheese and the oven – ground turkey mixed with refried beans, topped with onions, green peppers, black olives, and jalapenos.

And here there are in all their gloriousness with additional toppings: cilantro, tomatoes, guacamole, homemade salsa, and hot sauce. Que rico! (So delicious!)

Earlier today at work we were talking about tequila which got me to thinking about what sort of cocktail I could have with my delicious nachos…well I don’t have any tequila so a margarita was out of the question, but I do have margarita glasses so we had a non-margarita cocktail instead 🙂  Noah, the cocktail master, mixed up these delightful beverages – pineapple rum, vanilla vodka, Cointreau, pineapple juice, and lime juice! Delicioso!

Just after we sat down to eat, Noah asked why we weren’t listening to any music. Great question! So we turned on the Cinco de Mayo Pandora station – not perfect, but has a good mix of newer Latin songs and more traditional Mexican music.  And do yourself a favor please and listen to El Rey by Jose Alfredo Jimenez – a classic for sure! It just makes me happy!

All of this combined – the delicious food, tasty drink, and awesome music – made me a very happy gal! And makes me miss Mexico just a little bit (okay a lot a bit!)

Anyway, feliz Cinco de Mayo!