August 3, 2017

-Guacamole, too!

I love “me some” La Palapa Mexican food on last week’s date night!

Greetings dear readers!  I trust that you have been having a fun and busy summer.  You may have noticed that I have been MIB lately; that is Missing in Blogdom.
(Yes, I made that term up, and expect this expression to catch on like wildfire on the web soon! :o)) Summer has run away with me in a good way. I will regale you with photos from my family’s annual summer reunion in July, and continue with my
Discovering New Fun at Walt Disney World Amid the Craziness of Life series in the upcoming weeks.

My fun and busy summer began with a wonderful 39th anniversary
overnight-trip to the Gettysburg area, on Memorial Day weekend. 

I promise, however, that I will NOT write a neat little blog post with my pearls of wisdom on how to clean out closets and declutter your home. Although, I have spent some less that picturesque, yet necessary moments, of my life this summer, doing just that. (I laugh uncontrollably when I encounter those blog posts on Pinterest that proclaim “Declutter your entire house in a day.”) In other words, I procrastinate, preferring to write this blog post to you right now. :o)

Date Night

Dinner 

I love date night with my hubby.  While raising four children, Dale and I did our best to set up a date night once per month.  Now the parents of grown children, we schedule date night once per week, when work and life allows. Last week we enjoyed dinner at my favorite local Mexican restaurant, La Palapa.

La Palapa Mexican Restaurant in Old Ellicot City, Maryland. 

Having lived in Texas for sixteen years, my family and I have become quite discerning in our choice for Mexican cuisine.  La Palapa fits the bill.  We even had our son’s wedding rehearsal dinner here a few years ago!

Our son and daughter in-law ( in the large sombreros) enjoy their
rehearsal dinner party at La Palapa.
October 15, 2010

Date night brought a beautiful summer evening, allowing us to dine on the patio, with a view of the pretty Mexican star lights and Old Ellicott City “skyline”..

We arrived fairly early at the restaurant, having our choice of tables on the back patio.  When we left an hour later, every table was occupied.

 

I love the shimmer of the pretty Mexican lights, just inside from the patio.

The food did not disappoint. So good, as usual.  First, greeted with chips and yummy in-house made salsa, we ordered black, brewed iced tea, chili con queso, and chicken fajitas. It was all delicious, but their chili con queso is the best anywhere!  I have requested this recipe on more than one occasion, but…  Maybe someday. :o)

La Papala’s chili con queso has no equal! Yum!

 

The sizzling hot chicken fajitas with caramelized onions are my favorite entree.

 

The plate of sides never go to waste, with the star being the creamy guacamole.
Check out my own guacamole recipe below.

After Dinner Stroll

La Palapa resides in Old Ellicott City.  I love the old-style charm of the quaint area, and an evening stroll down Old Main Street is always in order after a satisfying meal.  

A view on our after-dinner walk.  That is Dale ahead of me.

Old Main Street is still recovering from a deadly flash flood that occurred last year. La Palapa was one of the businesses affected by the angry waters.

To see the heroic rescue of a driver overtaken by water, click here.
To view the effects of the flood on La Palapa, click here and read about it here
and here.
To read what I wrote about the flood last year, click here.

Signs and banners like these were posted up and down Old Main Street
last week.

 

A walk across the bridge is idyllic in Old Ellicott City, with the
Wilkins Rogers Flour Mill steadfast in the background.

Colorful pink cleomes (also called spider flowers) enhance the beauty of our evening stroll.

Ellicott City‘s railroad bridge proudly displays its name, as dusk sets in.

 

 Holy Guacamole, Batman!

I can not help but think of Robin, Burt Ward of 1960’s Batman fame, whenever I hear the phrase “Holy guacamole!” uttered.  Buzzfeed ranked “holy guacamole” as number 5 out of all of Robin’s 359 “holy” exclamations. 

Robin (left) is shown with Batman on the cover of my often watched
Batman DVD set.

 To view a list of all 359 “holy” exclamations, click here.

Holy guacamole aside, I am a fan of this green stuff!  I can not eat out every night, so it is nice to have this recipe on hand when dining at home, or making a batch of nachos.  (When I share this recipe, people are often surprised to learn how easily this dish can be made at home.) Gather your ingredients and let’s get started. 

Gather up tomatoes, onion, lemon, avocados, and Cavender’s spice.
Make sure that your avocados are soft, but not mushy.

Chop up the onion and tomatoes, adding lemon juice to the mix.

Add Cavender’s Greek Seasoning to the mix.  Yes, I said Greek!
Cavender’s is the “secret” ingredient that my Texas neighbor and friend, reveled to me when teaching this Texas newbie (me) to first make guacamole,
in the early 1980’s.

Mash up the peeled avocados.

Combine the tomato mixture to the mashed avocado.

Gently mix.

Making nachos?  Yum! Grill up some chicken. Grab any other ingredients that you like.

Grill up some boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders, and shred it.
(Rotisserie chicken may be used instead.)

Layer the following:
Tortilla chips
(I like the whole grain, or Safeway’s made in-store variety),
Chopped, or shredded cooked chicken,
Also, chopped onion, if desired.
 Shredded 4-cheese Mexican-style blend or cheddar cheese,  


Microwave 30-45 seconds, or till cheese is melted.

Top with guacamole, sour cream, and tomato, if desired.
Finish with sliced olives, if desired.

If waiting to serve, place plastic wrap directly on top of Guacamole and place in fridge.

Annette’s Holy Guacamole

 Ingredients

1-2 tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces

¼-3/4 onions, chopped

½ lemon’s juice

Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning to taste

3-5 ripe avocados

Tortilla chips, or desired dipping chip

Directions

Combine cut up tomato, chopped onion, and lemon juice.

Add Cavender’s to taste.

Marinate for 10-20 minutes.

In the meantime, cut open avocados, remove seeds, and take off peel.

Mash avocados.

Combine marinade to avocados gently.

Serve with tortilla chips, if desired.

If waiting to serve, place plastic wrap directly on top of Guacamole and place in fridge.

Enjoy!

You can read my earlier post about preparing guacamole, here.

Thanks for reading,
Annette

To enjoy any, or all, of my past blogs and photos, click here, or go to imannette.net, selecting the posts that you desire to see in the Recent Posts, or the Archives sections, on the upper right-hand side.

I attempt to post (around) every other Thursday, but….
Look for my next post on Thursday, August 17 for my next blog.

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This heart stone display, lying in the river bed, greets all who gaze down from the Old Ellicott City bridge.