Every time I start a new group on Facebook, I get a congratulatory message: “Great job! You’re building community!” Facebook groups have their place in the world, but it’s not true community, in my opinion. Humans need human interaction, and screen interactions are rapidly replacing them, which is a little crazy if you ask me. “Every Tuesday, from 6-8pm, bring the family to have dinner and hang out with us! We will provide all taco fixings. (Unless you happen to have some tomatoes or shredded cheese to use up, then you’re allowed to bring it, but the rule is NO grocery store trips.) This is just a fun and casual night to hang out. (We all need to eat dinner, why not do it together??) I will not be cleaning my house or wearing fancy clothes for Taco Tuesday. We will be using paper plates. This is meant to be a drop in event; no need to come every week, no need to explain why you can or can’t make it, just show up between 6-8 every Tuesday.” If you want to read the official rules for “How to Host a Crappy Dinner Party” (inspiration for Taco Tuesday), read this post. Hope to see you Tuesday!” You also don’t have to make it every week. Eric and I aren’t doing this forever; just for the summer months. You could do the first Tuesday of every month, or, of course, whatever night of the week works best for you.
flour tortillas rice taco meat (ground beef cooked with homemade taco seasoning, or with a regular ol’ taco seasoning packet) I always add a can of beans to make it go further. If you have vegetarian friends, you could also jazz up some canned beans for your taco filling, like in this recipe. Sometimes I make both. iceberg lettuce tomatoes salsa (recipe below!) tortilla chips cheese sour cream
paper plates plastic silverware napkins cups sharpie
The Sharpie is so that people can write their names on their cup. (Or skip the cups and grab a pack of Aquafina at Safeway like I did!) Water is simple and cheap, don’t complicate your life. Taco stuff is also pretty cheap. If there are leftovers, I freeze what I can to use the next week. Taco meat freezes beautifully. I also freeze extra tortillas and shredded cheese. Also notice: there are no side dishes. No desserts. No fancy drinks. The idea is to keep it SIMPLE. Summers are busy and people forget, so I often send out reminder texts to people. I tested out a few batches to get this salsa just right. I tried it with fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, and one time I added too much cilantro in addition to overblending it, which turned it brown instead of red. (It still tasted amazing. Let me be clear: there is never too much cilantro. But if you are posting pictures of your salsa on the internet, it probably shouldn’t be brown.) The other secret ingredient here is cumin, a tip I got from The Pioneer Woman. You can add it to taste or leave it out, but I think it’s so great! The other ingredient you NEED is salt. Taste your salsa, and if it doesn’t taste like you want to eat 10 more bites, add more salt. It really is like magic. Here’s a quick shopping list to help you gather your ingredients. See the recipe card below for the full ingredients and instructions! To make restaurant-style salsa, toss your fresh (or canned) tomatoes into a food processor or blender and add the remaining ingredients. Pulse for 1 full second at a time until just blended. Don’t go overboard and just willy-nilly blend or it will get too watery. That´s it! Really!What to serve with restaurant-style salsa. Obviously a bag of Juanitas is my first recommendation. But this salsa can be served with any of your favorite Mexican dishes. If you have leftover Better Than Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice, top that with some leftover taco meat or some beans and add a healthy spoonful (or five) of this restaurant style salsa and you got yourself a cheap, quick, yummy dinner (or lunch). Or you can dip your Chicken Flautas into the salsa. I also like it in my Seriously the Best Taco Salad. And don´t forget to add it to the Ultimate Chili Nachos with Queso and Guacamole. Honestly, just make a huge batch and put on everything.
