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Cooking a real Mexican meal for your family sounds good, doesn't it? However, where do you start? How do you know what kinds of side dishes are served and how many to make? Should everything be spicy? Is it okay to tone it down?
With all these questions ranging in your head, it is no wonder that you may be a bit confused. Unless you go out to a Mexican restaurant and get everything as part of a combo meal, how are you to know what to make? Take a few deep breaths and relax. Cooking your family an authentic Mexican meal will not be that difficult.
When you plan your meal, take a look at the weather. Is it in the height of summer when the days are hot or is it winter and you are seeing a bank of snow outside your window? Mexico serves seasonal meals, taking advantage of the peak seasons for fresh foods. To make your planning easier, let us take an average day of average temperatures that are not too cold or too hot.
First, you need a main dish. Two side dishes should be sufficient to accompany it. Finish it off with a dessert. This will make a nice meal that your family will probably talk about for at least a week. For a main dish, pick something relatively easy like a pan of cheese or chicken enchiladas or some chilies rellenos. There are many recipes for these dishes to choose from, so you can find one that fits your needs.
Side dishes can be as simple as some refried beans and a rice dish. Alternatively, you could choose to make a salad with fresh greens, black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, crushed corn chips, and chilies served with guacamole and sour cream. If you want to keep it simple, homemade tortillas will stand in as bread. It can be used to wrap around bites of the other dishes or to sop up sauces on the plate. You can always whip up a quick fresh salsa to serve as a condiment.
Round out the evening with one of many good Mexican desserts. A classic flan topped with caramel sauce is always a good choice. It will cool down your mouth if you have a lot of spicy dishes. If you do not want to go to that much trouble, simply serve some vanilla ice cream topped with a Mexican chocolate sauce. You will never look at vanilla ice cream the same way again.
Make up your shopping list and finish your marketing the day before. Some recipes need to soak or marinate, so you want to give yourself time to do this. If you are fortunate enough to have a Mexican market in your city, you can find all the right chilies and other ingredients you may need. They may even feature a bakery where you can get authentic Mexican pastries for dessert.
Let your kids join in the fun and help decorate the table before your special meal. Perhaps they want to make some colorful placemats in the colors of the Mexican flag or help you set the table with colorful plates. Your family will love sitting down to a home cooked Mexican meal. You may be surprised when they request to have another.
With all these questions ranging in your head, it is no wonder that you may be a bit confused. Unless you go out to a Mexican restaurant and get everything as part of a combo meal, how are you to know what to make? Take a few deep breaths and relax. Cooking your family an authentic Mexican meal will not be that difficult.
When you plan your meal, take a look at the weather. Is it in the height of summer when the days are hot or is it winter and you are seeing a bank of snow outside your window? Mexico serves seasonal meals, taking advantage of the peak seasons for fresh foods. To make your planning easier, let us take an average day of average temperatures that are not too cold or too hot.
First, you need a main dish. Two side dishes should be sufficient to accompany it. Finish it off with a dessert. This will make a nice meal that your family will probably talk about for at least a week. For a main dish, pick something relatively easy like a pan of cheese or chicken enchiladas or some chilies rellenos. There are many recipes for these dishes to choose from, so you can find one that fits your needs.
Side dishes can be as simple as some refried beans and a rice dish. Alternatively, you could choose to make a salad with fresh greens, black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, crushed corn chips, and chilies served with guacamole and sour cream. If you want to keep it simple, homemade tortillas will stand in as bread. It can be used to wrap around bites of the other dishes or to sop up sauces on the plate. You can always whip up a quick fresh salsa to serve as a condiment.
Round out the evening with one of many good Mexican desserts. A classic flan topped with caramel sauce is always a good choice. It will cool down your mouth if you have a lot of spicy dishes. If you do not want to go to that much trouble, simply serve some vanilla ice cream topped with a Mexican chocolate sauce. You will never look at vanilla ice cream the same way again.
Make up your shopping list and finish your marketing the day before. Some recipes need to soak or marinate, so you want to give yourself time to do this. If you are fortunate enough to have a Mexican market in your city, you can find all the right chilies and other ingredients you may need. They may even feature a bakery where you can get authentic Mexican pastries for dessert.
Let your kids join in the fun and help decorate the table before your special meal. Perhaps they want to make some colorful placemats in the colors of the Mexican flag or help you set the table with colorful plates. Your family will love sitting down to a home cooked Mexican meal. You may be surprised when they request to have another.
About the Author:
Mexican dessert recipes that use chocolate are numerous. You can make chocolate sauce, chocolate candies, or chocolate filling for empanadas and tamales. Since chocolate got its start in Mexico, it is only fitting that they make the most of this delicious ingredient.
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