Sunday, May 1, 2011

Guacamole

I'm baaack!  We had a wonderful time in Italy, Greece, and Turkey these past couple of weeks.  I saw many ancient World Wonders, took a dip in the (freezing cold) Mediterranean (stupid idea!) off the coast of Capri, and was inspired by lots and lots of food.  I'm also delighted to announce that despite all my fear (and not to mention previous track records on cruises), I gained ZERO weight over the course of the past couple weeks.  It's truly a miracle!

Anyway, remember how before I left for vacation I left you with these Churro Bites as a Cinco Recipes for Cinco de Mayo teaser?  Well, here comes the rest of the series since Cinco de Mayo is rapidly approaching.  No Mexican Fiesta is complete without everyone's favorite (and relatively healthy) dip, Guacamole!  Personally, I think that Chipotle has the best guac but at the crazy caloric content of those burritos and the extra they charge to add guac, it's only good as an occasional treat.  This homemade version is a very close second in my mind and was ridiculously easy to make.  Take that, Chipotle!

By the way, to add more to your fiesta or in case you "over-fiesta", check out the Build Your Own Pinata Smash video on Pepto-Bismol's YouTube page!  //End shameless plug//

One Year Ago: Slow Cooker Carnitas are also an easy Cinco de Mayo crowd pleaser
Two Years Ago: Focaccia Bread (I had THE most delicious Focaccia EVER this past trip at Babbo's in Rome!)

Guacamole
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Yields: 2.5 cups

Ingredients
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 3 ripe avocados, peeled and halved
  • 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  • 2 green onions, white plus 3-inches of green chopped
  • 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
  • 1.5 tsp Tabasco sauce
  • 1/2 tsp coarse salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
  • Tortilla chips
Directions
  1. Put garlic and jalapeno into your food processor with the motor running. Process until finely chopped. Add half of the avocado and all of the lemon juice. Process until smooth.
  2. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and add remaining avocado. Mash with a spoon, leaving as chunky or smooth as desired.  Add the remaining ingredients (tomatoes through cilantro). Mix thoroughly with a fork.
  3. Serve at room temperature within 1-2 hours. If you're going to store it, press plastic wrap all over the top to prevent it from browning.  Enjoy with tortilla chips.
Source: The Piggly-Wiggly as passed along by her co-worker Sharon's sister

2 comments:

Lauren said...

Your trip sounds amazing! And congrats on not gaining any weight on your vacation- I *always* seem to come back with a little extra baggage no matter where I go.

Christine @ Christine's Kitchen Chronicles said...

@Lauren - Thank you! In the past my average weight gain on a week long cruise was ~5 pounds so being gone for 2 weeks this time I feared for the worst! I think all the walking helped keep me trim this time. Now the Caribbean though...that's a different story! (You'd think the whole swimsuit thing would be motivation enough!) I'm in the process of trying to narrow down over 2,000 pictures so that I can share some soon!