What I miss most when I arrive home after visiting the Southwest is good Mexican food. And yes I know there are several Mexican restaurants in our area, but…..as much as I would like to say they all serve wonderful Mexican food, they do not! (At least in my humble opinion.)

Now darn it, there are times when I just really want to go out for lovely warm tortilla chips and a really fabulous salsa or pico de gallo. But that’s just not happenin’ north of the Stillaguamish. (If I were in Texas I could say north of the Pecos, which sounds so much more authentic, but we deal the hand we’re given!) So when I want good Mexican food, I have to fix it myself! (And yes as much as I love to cook, there are times when the last thing I want to do is spend time in the kitchen! I want to treat myself and let someone else do the cooking.)

So when I get the hankering for Mexican food and it just happens to be the same day I don’t want to spend all hours in the kitchen, I make it simple on myself. I fix this simple pico de gallo, warm up some Juanita’s tortilla chips and ask the resident mixologist for one of his special Margaritas. (See recipe below.) Then while sipping away on my drink, I whip up some Weeknight Tamale Pie (on blog) and call it good.

So next time you need a Mexican food fix, but don’t want to spend endless hours in the kitchen, give this recipe a go. Who knows, you may decide to open your own Mexican restaurant. If you do, would you please let me know? Mr. C and I will be your first customers.

• 6 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• ½ c. chopped red onion
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded, de-veined and finely minced
• 3 T. minced cilantro leaves
• 1 T. minced fresh Italian parsley
• 1-2 limes, juiced (depends on size of the limes)
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients, adjust seasonings and refrigerate until ready to serve.

MARGARITA

• 2 parts good quality tequila (like Cuervo Especial)
• 1 part Cointreau (orange flavored liqueur)
• 1 part fresh lime juice (don’t even think about using the stuff from a bottle or cute little plastic lime thingy)
• ice
• coarse salt (kosher works fine)

Combine tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, and ice in a martini shaker. Shake well and pour the liquid and a few of the ice cubes into prepared glasses. Garnish with a thin wedge of lime. To prepare the glasses, rub the rims with lime and dip into coarse salt. Chill glasses if time allows.