22: Mexican Stacks and Corn Cakes

For Cinco de Mayo, I went loco and decided to do dos in uno! What better way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo than making up a couple of Mexican dishes.  I decided on Mexican Stacks and Corn Cakes.  

I love to cook, but I am not big on baking.  These corn cakes come about as close to baking as I am comfortable with.  If you are looking for your next cake to bake, move along - you probably won't find it here.




Mexican Stacks
Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa - I actually used the leftovers from Day 21. 
1 can black beans (drained) *not pictured
1 diced tomato *not pictured
1 lb lean ground beef
cilantro (to taste)
1 tbsp garlic powder
S&P
2 cups salsa
1 avocado - chopped
1 red pepper - chopped
1 mango - chopped
Sour cream *not pictured

The How To:
Cook quinoa according to package (2 cups water, 1 cup quinoa - Get it to boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes) 
Add 1 can (drained)black beans and 1 diced tomato into the quinoa 
Brown the ground beef(add water and pour off the extra fat) and season with garlic powder, and S&P
After the meat has browned (and you have poured off the water) add the salsa, cover and reduce heat to a simmer for about 20 minutes.
Chop the cilantro, avocado, and mango and put them in little containers aside
Chop the pepper and saute it for about 5 minutes (I am not a huge raw red pepper fan) then add it to it's own little container
Once the meat has simmered add the cilantro 
Now the fun begins - the stacking.. 
Pack about 1 cup of quinoa and put it on the plate, then put about 1/2 cup meat on top, then add the pepper, avocado, and mango
We also topped our stacks with sour cream, cheese and extra salsa

Corn Cakes
Ingredients:
1/4 cup diced red pepper
olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp cornmeal
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp baking powder (NOT BAKING SODA)
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1 egg
1/4 cup milk (I used skim)
1 cup frozen corn
1 tbsp diced pimentos 

The How To:
Saute the pepper for about 5 minutes, then set it aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, oregano, baking powder, cumin, egg and milk until just combined. 
Fold in the corn, pimentos, and peppers.
Heat a large skillet and spray a little olive oil
Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls into the skillet
Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown

Serve with sour cream and salsa.

This meal was a big hit and was muy deliciouso.  I absolutely think this will be a repeat in our house.  Este plato es Will aprobado.