Cinco de Mayo Easy Recipes Margaritaville Margarita & Nachos

Easy Entertaining for Cinco de Mayo at Home with Margaritaville’s Livin’ it Up Margarita and Volcano Nachos Recipes

Cinco de Mayo is this Monday May 5th, which means an entire weekend of fiestas! There are some great Cinco de Mayo Celebrations in Orlando (check out my Top 9 list) but if you don’t feel like going out, then Cinco de Mayo is a great excuse to invite friends over and have a party at home. Now, you may say, “no way, I don’t have time to plan, cook and clean.” But I say, “forget about all that stuff and keep it simple with these Cinco de Mayo easy recipes”

Easy Entertaining, the goEpicurista way, is about preparing great food and drinks fast so that you have time to focus on the most important ingredient of the night, your friends”

Often times, we avoid entertaining at home because we don’t have the time to put together a fancy party, creating a menu, preparing the food and let’s not forget, cleaning the house! Forget about all that! Don’t be a member of the The Procrastinators of Pleasure Club. Invite your friends over, prepare some simple yet tasty food and have a great time. Your real friends are there for the conversation and good times not just the food. Plus, I think after a few drinks no one will notice the house is less than spotless. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a foodie so good food is non-negotiable in my book. What I do is find easy recipes and have my own “Easy Entertaining Button” tips so that the food elevates the fun experience without elevating my stress-level. For my Cinco de Mayo Easy Recipes, my friends at Margaritaville (one of my Top 9 Best Cinco de Mayo Celebrations) came to the rescue. Their super-easy and tasty “Livin’ It Up Margarita” (I love that name) and “Volcano Nachos” will impress your friends and make you look like a superstar host with little effort.

Livin’ It Up Margarita Recipe

Ingredients:
1¼ oz Tres Generaciones Anejo Tequila
¾ oz Grand Marnier
2¾ oz Fresh Lemonade
¾ oz Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 ozAgave Nectar

Directions:
– Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice
– Shake shake shake! (you can do a dance!)
– Serve up or on the rocks

goEpicurista “Easy Entertaining Button” Tips:

– If you have a large shaker, you can double this recipe to make two drinks (or one nice big one!) Make it in a pitcher to serve multiple drinks at once.
– Sauza Tres Generaciones Anejo Tequila is an excellent tequila. However, easy entertaining is all about keeping it stress-free. So, if you have another brand on hand or a favorite, feel free to substitute. I do recommend using a Reposado or Anejo Tequila for the ultimate margarita experience. It gives this traditional cocktail a depth of flavor and smoothness that is quite different from your typical crisp taste when using a Silver/Blanco tequila.
– For fun fresh fruit margaritas, select your favorite juicy fruits and muddle it in the shaker with the lime juice before adding all the other ingredients. It is so tasty and refreshing! Berries and melons work great (blueberries and watermelon are my favorite). Get creative and have fun!

The margaritas in my picture below were made using Margaritaville’s Livin’ It Up Margarita recipe with muddled Florida Blueberries that were picked this week at Beck Brothers Farm in Windermere.

Margaritaville’s Volcano Nachos Recipe

Ingredients:
¼ lb. ground beef
¼ cup Margaritaville Salsa
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
¾ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
13 oz.bag Margaritaville Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips
1 cup Margaritaville Con Queso in Paradise Dip
1 medium tomato, diced
5-6 green onions, sliced
⅓ cup Margaritaville Guacamole
⅓ cup sour cream
Sliced jalapenos to taste

Directions:
– Preheat oven to 375°F
– Cook beef in skillet over medium-high heat until browned.
– Add Margaritaville Salsa and continue cooking for 2 minutes.
– In a small bowl, mix shredded cheeses together. Set aside.
– Arrange a layer of Margaritaville Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips on an oven safe plate.
– Add ⅓ cup Margaritaville Con Queso in Paradise Dip, then another layer of chips and another ⅓ cup queso, then final layer of chips with remaining queso. Top with remaining chips.
– Top with salsa-seasoned beef and remaining shredded cheese.
– Place nachos in oven and bake 9-10 minutes to melt cheese.
– Remove nachos from oven and add diced tomatoes and green onions.
– Top with Margaritaville Guacamole, sour cream and desired amount of jalapenos

Click here for more tasty recipes from Margaritaville

goEpicurista “Easy Entertaining Button” Tips:

These are great Cinco de Mayo easy recipes, right?

If you are still not convinced and feel this is more than you have time for right now, then don’t put off the party. Instead, make it even easier and simpler. Usually all my friends and I need to have a party is chips and salsa and a pitcher of margaritas. Or easier yet, a bottle of a wine and a six-pack of beer.

– Pick up fresh salsa from the grocery store deli (the kind that has no preservatives and is in the refrigerated area)
– Buy your favorite tortilla chips (I just tried the new Artisan Recipes Chips by Tostitos that are quite tasty and look fancy with flavors like Baked Three Cheese Queso and Grilled Red Pepper & Tomato Salsa)
– Pick up your favorite beverages
– Invite friends over, and voila! You have a party!Remember the most important component of the party is your friends.

If you liked this post, please share it with your friends using the links below. It’s a great way to invite them over for your Cinco de Mayo Easy Fiesta!

Now it’s your turn to share. Do you have a favorite “easy button” trick for entertaining? Please share in the comments below. I am always looking for time-saving easy party tricks.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Salud!(Cheers!)

goEpicurista