[ElaineHN]

I had planned to make tacos and guacamole for super last night ... but low and behold, my packed-to-the-gills freezer did not hold any ground beef. I sure thought I had some!!!

But I had bought avacados and I really wanted the guacamole ... so at hubby's suggestion of 'vegetarian' tacos ... I delved into the cabinets for a super yummy but cheap meal.

I warmed some diced onion in a little bacon greese (you could use cooking oil if the idea of bacon grease is gross to you or if you truly want a vegetarian meal ... but it sure makes the beans taste good) and then added 2 cans of Bush's Pintos (3 cents) and added in a heaping spoonful of Ortega taco seasoning (free I think) and let them cook while I prepared the other items. Before serving I mashed the beans a bit to make lumpy refried beans!

I opened a jar of $1 salsa, got out a bag of 75 cent shredded cheese along with my free + 21 cent overage sour cream. Diced up a tomatoe and slivered some lettuce (no bargain on these) and opened a bag of 67 cent corn chips.

To make the guacamole, I just added a heaping tablespoon of finely diced onion, a spoonful of very small diced tomatoe (only use the fleshy part, not the seeds), and a small spoonfull of sour cream to one well mashed avacado ($1.49).

Of course if I'd found the veggies on sale, or grown them myself, the meal would have been even cheaper ... but for around $5 my family of 4 (including a burly hubby and a growing teenage boy) all had a Mexican feast and left over chips, salsa, sour cream, lettuce, taco seasoning and cheese. We ate all of the guacamole, beans and tomatoe but there's pretty much some of everything else left for another meal! I could've made some Mahatma spanish rice (free) but we just ate our 'taco salads' or 'tostadas' or whatever you want to call it and got full.

Much better than spending $40 at our favorite mexican restaurant!

\\/ Elaine

[angelaira]

I love Mexican!
For guacamole, I use a well mashed avacado with a little salt and pepper and a dash of hot sauce.
salsa is a diced tomato with some chopped cilantro and a chopped green chile

I add sour cream, flour tortillas, beans (canned refried always works, we put the beans on a tortilla, sprinkle on cheese, and microwave, then add the cold items!)
Mind you, there are only two of us for dinner usually (me and a four year old) so it is always a much smaller scale!
Good job on the veg Mexican dinner! I am so inspired I might have to make some of that tonight!!

[boycrewof6]

Lard is the key. There used to be a real dive of a Mexican resturant here in Pittsburgh. The food was out of this world. cheap cheap cheap. The man that cooked there was very old so they had to close about 11 years ago. When I think of eating there my mouth waters.

I know this is a stupid question but can you buy lard at the grocery store?

[ninasgramma]

I lived in PGH for almost 30 years and remember a little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant in Etna...fabulous.