Moms & Munchkins

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Mexican Meal Ideas

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We’ve been stuck in a bit of a dinner rut so we’ve started spicing up our dinners with a few delicious Mexican meals. I gave my family a challenge of making a Mexican supper every night this past week. I wanted to do 7 meals (including desserts) without any repeats for an entire week. How do you think we did? I decided to include my parents in this challenge as well which could be tricky with my dad because he’s a picky eater; however, my mom loved the idea of not having to cook supper for a week! I love all of the flavour in the meals and everything we’ve tried has been so easy to make. Here are the Mexican meal ideas we tried along with some easy recipes. At the bottom of this post you’ll find a giveaway that will help spice up your dinner menu as well!

Mexican Meal Ideas

Mexican Meal Ideas – Suppers:

 

Fajitas:

We started with the Old El Paso Hot & Spicy Fajita Dinner Kit. It was really easy to make – just add chicken and chopped vegetables (bell peppers and onions). This one certainly has a kick in it so make sure you like spice before trying out this delicious dinner kit. If you like your meals a bit more mild, Old El Paso also offers a regular Fajita Dinner Kit with a more mild seasoning. Yes, those are mini sombreros at each place setting. We had to set the scene for a Mexican Fiesta as well!
Mexican Meal Ideas - Fajita Friday

Soft & Hard Tacos:

Do you prefer your tacos crunchy or soft? We tried the Old El Paso Hard & Soft Taco Dinner Kit so we had a bit of a variety (we had two votes for the hard tacos and two votes for the soft tacos). I added toppings of fresh homemade Pico de Gallo (recipe from Tacos, Tortas and Tamales on page 127 – you’ll have a chance to win one at the end of this post), shredded cheese, sour cream, taco topping (that came in the kit) and shredded lettuce.

Mexican Meal Ideas - Tacos

Nachos:

It’s not like me to toot my own horn but…Toot! Toot! I must say that I make the best nachos. I start with nacho chips, add a layer of taco-seasoned ground beef, add chopped bell peppers and onions, top with nacho cheese sauce (Queso), tomatoes and shredded cheese. I then put it in the oven in 450F for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts. Be careful because it will burn quickly! It can be served with sour cream and salsa on the side. A pan of nachos never lasts long in our house.

Mexican Meal Ideas

Burritos:

Whenever my husband asks if I want take-out, I usually vote for burritos. Actually, when I was pregnant I’m pretty sure I ate at least one burrito every day! For our burrito night we had both taco-seasoned ground beef and chicken along with shredded cheese, guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo.

Mexican Meal Ideas

Quesadillas:

This is a favourite around our house! Since we already had a few days of Mexican meals, we used some of our leftovers to make quesadillas. Some could have taco-seasoned ground beef and others could have fajita-seasoned chicken and vegetables. Simply add on some cheese, grill and serve with sour cream and salsa.

Mexican Meal Ideas

Taco Salad:

I had never made a taco bowl before so I wasn’t sure where to start. I preheated the oven to 450F and made large balls of tinfoil (about the size of two fists) for the flour tortillas to rest on. I lightly sprayed the outside of the tortillas with cooking spray and rested one tortilla on top of each tinfoil ball. I baked them in the oven for a few minutes – just until they started to brown. Once cooled, fill with lettuce, taco-seasoned beef, shredded cheese, salsa and sour cream.

Mexican Meal Ideas

Soft Taco Bake:

This tasty meal is another dinner kit by Old El Paso – Soft Taco Bake. Basically it is ground beef mixed with seasoning and cheese sauce layered between flour tortillas. My husband enjoyed this one so much that a few hours after supper he was already asking when I’d make this one again!

Mexican Meal Ideas

Mexican Meal Ideas – Dessert:

 

Mexican Lime Pie:

I won’t tell you how many pieces of this Mexican Lime Pie I ate…let’s just say it wasn’t shared evenly with everyone. {wink} This was really easy to make and it’s perfectly tart! You’ll find the recipe in the Tacos, Tortas, and Tamales book on page 184.

Mexican Meal Ideas - Lime Pie

Apple Caramel Wraps:

This was my own little creation and I think it turned out quite well. All you need are flour tortillas, apple pie filling and caramel sauce (in the ice cream topping section of the grocery store). Simply put pie filling and caramel in the middle of the tortilla, wrap and put in the panini press for a couple of minutes. This would be great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side too.

Mexican Meal Ideas - Apple Caramel Wraps

Dessert Tacos:

Another recipe that’s really easy to make! Simply melt a milk chocolate bar in the microwave and dip the tops of taco shells in the chocolate. Rest these on wax paper and let them cool in the fridge while the chocolate hardens on the shell. When you are ready to serve them, simply fill them with fresh fruit, a couple of small scoops of ice cream and caramel sauce.

Mexican Meal Ideas

Berry Compote with Vanilla Ice Cream:

You’ll find the recipe for this Berry Compote in the Tacos, Tortas, and Tamales book on page 198. It’s also delicious as a topping on flan, pancakes and cheesecake. We tried ours on ice cream!

Mexican Meal Ideas

Chocolate Banana Quesadillas:

Another of my inventions that turned out pretty tasty – Chocolate Banana Quesadillas. Simply add sliced bananas and chocolate shavings on one flour tortilla, top with another flour tortilla and grill in a quesadilla press for a few minutes. Quick, easy and delicious!

Mexican Meal Ideas

Mexican Chocolate Pudding with Roasted Marshmallow Topping:

The Mexican Chocolate Pudding recipe can be found on page 183 of the Tacos, Tortas, and Tamales book. I just added on the roasted marshmallows for fun!

Mexican Meal Ideas

Pinata with Candy:

We had to end our Mexican Meal Ideas Challenge Week with a fun activity. It doesn’t get much more fun than a pinata filled with candy! A delicious dessert and a game all-in-one!

Mexican Meal Ideas – Giveaway:

Old El Paso wants to help you get started with your delicious Mexican meal ideas so they are offering a $75 dinner kit to giveaway to one lucky reader! Simply follow the steps in the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Please note that this is open to Canadians only.

This giveaway includes all of the items pictured below. That green & white slicer is SO handy for dicing vegetables. I was actually able to dice up an entire onion without tears running down my face. It’s a miracle!

Mexican Meal Ideas

Giveaway Rules & Restrictions:

  • This giveaway is open to Canadian residents who are at least 18 years of age.
  • Winning entries will be verified prior to contacting the winner.
  • The giveaway ends on September 27th, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. EST.  A winner will be drawn randomly on September 28th.  The winner will be notified, by email, and will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If I do not receive a response from the winner within 48 hours, a prize forfeit will be assumed and a new winner will be chosen randomly.
  • Winner has 90 days to report non-fulfillment of prizes.
  • By entering this giveaway, you verify that you understand and meet the prize eligibility requirements.
  • Please note that Moms & Munchkins is not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prize. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation that they will fulfill their prize in a timely manner. While we are not responsible, we will make every effort to assist the winner in obtaining their prize.
  • Once the winner claims the prize, his/her name will be posted on the Giveaways page. The winner’s full name, mailing address and email address will then be sent to the sponsor so they can ship your prize.

There are a few other bloggers also offering this delicious prize package. Follow the hashtag #YouMexiCAN on Twitter to find more giveaways and Mexican meal ideas. Please note that although you can enter across multiple blogs, you can only win on one.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. The lucky winner was entry #525 Elizabeth L.!

Now to answer the question I know you’ve been wondering…did anyone wear the mini sombreros at supper? You bet! In fact, it seemed like everyone wanted a hat.

For more ideas on breaking your dinner rut, visit the Old El Paso Facebook page for recipe ideas.

Disclosure: I receive special perks as a part of my affiliation with the Old El Paso Brand Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada. The opinions in this blog are my own.

Comments

  17. Melissa L'Hirondelle says

    Tonight, actually 🙂 We had the Old El Paso Hard and soft Taco kit. (my son loves hard tacos and my daughter loves soft tacos). We eat tacos a couple times a month. Fast, easy and delicious !

    Reply

  24. Jennifer says

    very funny, we actually had Old El Paso last night, the hard shell/soft shell pack for supper. My kids like the soft ones, and my hubby and I eat the hard shells. It was delicious.

    Reply

  29. Mark Larcher says

    haha – I make it weekly! There are so many things you can make with these kits and mixes. Been using them for years!!

    Reply

  33. Wayne Lecoy says

    I entered your giveaway.
    It would be great to win the Old El Paso Dinner Kit.
    In response to your question of When is the last time you made a Mexican meal for your family?
    We have tacos and burritos at least twice a month.
    Thank you for having this giveaway!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

  38. Lindsay Cyr says

    We usually have tacos once a week, they are one of my very favorite foods! By the way, my mouth is totally watering after looking through all of your yummy looking pictures on this post, I think we are going to have some Mexican food for supper tomorrow! 🙂

    Reply

  48. Dreena says

    We made some quesadillas last night and I just bought the Old El Paso Hard and Soft Shell Taco kit – will make tacos on the weekend. Yum!
    Thanks.

    Reply

  52. Rene says

    We had Mexican a couple of weeks ago – I keep hoping my 2.75 yr old will want to do family-style tacos but so far all she eats is the shell!

    Reply

  58. Dawn says

    It has been too long since I last made a Mexican meal! The odd thing being that we love Mexican food. Hopefully winning this kit will help make meal preparation faster and easier … so that Mexican meals can once again return to our dinner table. Thanks for the recipes 🙂

    Reply

  70. Wendy Lange says

    Not for years because when my 9 year old was younger he was so fussy about what he liked. Now I’m hoping to win this so he’ll be excited to try something new!
    Thanks for the giveaway 🙂
    You Tube: Wendy Lange
    FB/Pinterest/Blogvin: Alexia Harvours

    Reply

  89. SteveF says

    It’s been at least a fortnight so this is overdue – tonight it’ll be Taco pie for tea. I like Mexican and Indian food, but I find the Canadian palate means food isn’t very spicy here in Alberta, whether you buy ingredients to make at home or order in a restaurant. I always need to add extra spices, ones brought from the UK or from an Indian supermarket.

    Reply

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