It’s a Tuesday Alright!

Tuesdays in general mean just one thing in my house – and that’s something wonderful with a Mexican influence. Be it Taco Tuesday or Spicy Lasagna, just bring on those Mexican flavors all the way. Today is also National Cheesecake Day.

Now originally I was going to share a recipe for Chicken Fajita Salad and let you fend for yourselves when it came time for dessert. But then I came across this amazingly delicious recipe for Cheesecake Taquitos. While I did make a few very minor changes (use of Mexican Vanilla Extract and Mexican Cinnamon), the real credit goes to Life in the Lofthouse.

Isn’t this great? First the Salad, then the dessert. Just remember, everything Mexican Inspired is better when you let the Margaritas flow. If you aren’t a Margarita Fan, or have kids at the table, pour lemonade into Margarita Glasses, garnish with a slice of lemon or lime and there you go.

Enough chatter from me, let’s get to cooking!

When I originally started to make this delicious salad for my guys, it was to have chicken meat only. But then I realized I had some taco meat left in the fridge that needed to be used up or go to waste. I hate waste, so I added the taco meat filling to this salad. Wow – great call. It’s not necessary, but the more the merrier, right?

Fajita Salad with Creamy Cilantro Dressing
Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/3 cup Milk
3 tablespoons Lime Juice
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
2 large Garlic Cloves, minced
2 tablespoon fresh Cilantro, chopped

In a bowl combine sour cream, mayonnaise and milk. Whisk well to blend. Add lime juice and balsamic vinegar. Set aside.

Peel and finely mice garlic. Snip cilantro. Add garlic and cilantro to the dressing. Give everything a final stir, taste and adjust flavors as desired. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Chicken Fajita Salad
1 (15 oz) can Whole Black Beans
1 cup Grape Tomatoes
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
1/2 teaspoon New Mexican Red Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 lb boneless Chicken Breast
Cooking Spray as needed
2 Bell Peppers
1 small Red Onion
2 heads Romaine Lettuce
1 Avocado
1/2 cup shredded Pepper Jack Cheese

Taco-Chicken Fajita Salad
2 cups Taco Meat, optional

Drain black beans. Rinse beans well, drain again. Cut tomatoes in half. Set aside until ready to use.

In a large bowl, combine olive oil, cumin, paprika, red chili powder, salt and pepper. Cut chicken into strips, add to the seasoning mix, toss to coat.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Add chicken mixture, sauté until chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes or so. Set chicken aside.

Lightly spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Stem, core and thinly slice bell peppers into rings. Spread rings out on the baking sheet. Peel and thinly slice red onion into slivers. Spread out on the baking sheet.

Heat broiler element of the oven. Roast peppers and onions under the broiler just until beginning to blister, about 5 minutes.

While the vegetable roast, tear the lettuce into bite-size pieces. Plate lettuce in a circular patter in a large shallow bowl. Sprinkle lettuce with the roasted vegetables.

Add black beans and tomatoes to the center. Lay cooked chicken over bean mixture. Pit, peel and slice the avocado. Garnish the chicken with avocado. Drizle with cilantro lime dressing, serve remaining dressing and cheese at the table to add as desired.

Optional: If you have some taco meat leftover from earlier in the week, warm it in the microwave for a few minutes, then scatter over the chicken meat. The combination is spicy-good!

Believe it or not, this spicy salad is great with fruity Strawberry-Lime Margaritas!

Cheesecake Taquitos
Cheesecake Filling
2 (8 oz) blocks Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2 tablespoons Sugar
2 teaspoons Mexican Vanilla Extract
8 (8-inch) Flour Tortillas

Heat oven to 350-degrees. Lightly grease a rimmed baking pan, set aside. Let cream cheese softened.

In a large bowl, beat softened cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. There should be no lumps remaining in the filling mixture.

Heat a tortilla pan over medium-low heat. Warm tortillas to soften and make pliable. Working with one tortilla at a time, spread about a third-cup of the filling along one end of the tortilla. Leaving the ends open, roll tortilla beginning at the filling as tightly as possible without squeezing out the filling. Repeat until all the tortillas have been filled.

Finishing Touches
1 cup Strawberries
8 tablespoons Butter
1 cup Sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons Mexican Cinnamon, ground
Whipped Cream, optional

Stem and slice strawberries. Set aside.

In a glass pie-pan melt butter in the microwave. In another pie pan, mix together the sugar and cinnamon.

Working with one Taquito at a time, roll in the melted butter, then the cinnamon-sugar mixture to fully coat. Place on the prepared baking pan. Repeat with remaining Taquitos.

Bake in the heated oven for about 10 minutes or until tops are a beautiful golden brown. Remove from oven, let stand for 10 minutes.

Serve garnished with strawberry slices. If desired, finish with a dollop of whipped cream and enjoy.

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The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to Him will live for ever.