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I love to host gatherings at my house. It gives me an opportunity to really clean my house and show off my limited Rachael Rayish party skills. Spending time with family and friends is a bonus.
Contrary to popular belief - I'm not the most outgoing gal, at least not on purpose. Oddly, I worked in the service industry most of my life and could fake social skills. I did really well but when I stopped and went to work in an office, it was a lot harder to fake that sparkly personality. I'm out of practice.
So, it's time to dust off my sparkle and branch out into the world of neighborhood moms! How you wonder? Well, it all started at our Kid's Choice Awards party. The night of the party there happened to be a snowstorm and the moms of our guests decided to hang out instead of come back to get their offspring.
We spent the evening chatting, drinking wine, and even watching the award show with the kids. It was a great night. It also got me thinking, why not do this again?
A few clicks on Facebook and an invite was sent for a mom and kid potluck. Sure, I could have added our spouses but I told the husband he can have the night off and do something for himself. By making the event a potluck it absolutely took the pressure off having to make a big meal.
What I did not realize, until I went on Pinterest, was our party is the weekend before cinco de mayo! How fortuitous! But deciding this five days before the party...? Thank goodness for Amazon Prime
I went shopping for some festive plates and decorations and of course a pinata.
I also started preparing for our potluck by making pico de gallo. I think it tastes better after all the ingredients have marinated awhile and since there is a whole lot of chopping involved the sooner the better. This is also a dish that can be made an hour before the party and still taste great.
I have a secret, I have been craving chips and salsa like I was pregnant. No, I'm not, but I can taste the yummy combo just thinking of them. My favorite are Giant Eagle brand lime. They did not pay me to say that, I really just love those chips. Come to think of it - all of those chips are crazy good and cheap! I digress.. As much salsa as I've been eating I actually prefer making pico de gallo.
Second only to Giant Eagle lime tortilla chips is my obsession for cilantro. Love it in rice, chili, salsa, and pico de gallo. The recipe is stupid easy and although a food processor would make the chopping part go faster - I just get the knife out and go to town.
Pico de gallo really is my go to condiment especially in the summer months. Your guests will be amazed at how awesome it is and you can tell them it was just something you threw together. Which probably won't be a lie since all of the ingredients are summer staples.
The plan is to make the taco meat and have it warming in the crockpot and set up a bar for all of the toppings, including my pico de gallo of course. Easy! Making it a help yourself takes the pressure off a sit down meal and easier cleanup in the end.
Since this is a potluck, my work is done but if I was going to do more I'd go for some of the easy finger foods I found and tacos in a bag would be a huge hit with the kids. I wish I was clever enough to come up with some of these ideas but I will happily try some that I find out.
I am glad we are doing a theme and I hope we can do another again!
Ingredients:
10 Roma tomatoes
2 Limes
1 bunch of cilantro
1 medium red onion
sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
optional: roasted chili pepper.
Directions:
Chop all that needs chopping either by hand or by food processor but don't over use the food processor.
Roll, uncut limes before slicing to making the juicing easier and squeeze as much as you can into the tomatoes, cilantro and onions.
Add your pepper if you are adding it now. I don't since the kids like to eat it but they don't like spicy.
Season to taste.
Refrigerate until time to serve.
