I totally wrote this post the afternoon before we left town (last week!) and never scheduled it to post. What a total fail on my part. But…better late than never, I suppose!
While everyone else is sharing their favorite Valentine’s Day recipes, here I am presenting you with what could probably be considered the most un-Valentine’s treat ever. But let’s face it…Super Bowl was a mere four days ago, so I have a good excuse to post one of my favorite snacks of all time.
I’m pretty picky about my guacamole. It has to be just the right consistency, contain more than just avocados and have lots of flavor and a little hint of heat. I had a crazy craving for guacamole a few weeks ago, so I whipped up a quick batch for a little girls night get-together I was having. The entire batch was gone the next day. Since then, guacamole has pretty much been a staple in our house. It’s so simple to throw together and makes a great meal snack.
Guacamole
{Print this Recipe}
Here’s what you’ll need:
Makes: about 2 cups
– 5 or 6 ripe avocados, pit removed and scooped out of the skin
– juice of 1 lime
– 2 roma tomatoes, seeds removed, diced
– about 1/2 of a red onion, finely diced
– 2 small serrano peppers, finely minced (the seeds can be removed if you prefer)
– salt and pepper
– garlic powder
– cayenne or chili powder
– a handful of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
*adjust all of the ingredients to your liking, especially the seasonings and spicesInstructions:
In a medium mixing bowl, mash up the avocados to a reasonably smooth consistency using a fork or potato masher. Immediately mix in the lime juice so the avocados don’t turn brown. Stir in the tomatoes, onions and serrano peppers (you may not use the full amount of these ingredients, so I would suggest adding only a portion of each) until you achieve a consistency and flavor you like. Finally, mix in all of the seasonings, spices and cilantro to give the guacamole its delicious flavor. I don’t typically use exact amounts here, but I season pretty heavily with salt and garlic powder.
The Perfect Guacamole
Pretty simple, right? You really can’t go wrong with a good guacamole…it’s almost always a crowd pleaser, plus it’s real easy to prepare and not entirely bad for you! Well, unless you eat the whole batch in less than 24 hours. I love the texture the tomatoes and onions give in this recipe, it helps break up the creamyness of the mashed avocados. The salt really brings out the flavor of the avocados and the garlic powder adds a great depth of flavor. The cayenne gives everything that last little kick of heat and smokeyness. I’m not a huge fan of cilantro, but it really does finish out the flavors in this application — without it, the guacamole just isn’t the same.
This guacamole is perfect on it’s own with a bag of tortilla chips, but it also works great on tacos or fajitas. I bet it would even be good slathered on a burger or sandwich.
