Cinco de Mayo Recipes: 5 for Under $10

NEW YORK (MainStreet) – Cinco de Mayo is more of an American holiday than a Mexican one at this point, and it's mostly used as an excuse to drink Corona and margaritas while eating Mexican food. While that means it has strayed a bit from its roots, there's little we like more than eating Mexican food and drinking margaritas, so it's one of our favorite holidays.

If you get invited to a Cinco de Mayo party, or are hosting one of your own, you should probably be preparing some traditional Mexican (or at least Mexican-inspired) dishes. But, as with bringing food to a Super Bowl party, there's a delicate balance you need to strike. You don't want to spend all day making traditional chili verde with a dozen ingredients at great personal expense and then have to lug the whole pot to the party. On the other hand, if you just show up with some store-bought salsa or take-out from Taco Bell, you won't be so well-received.

Here, then, are five – that's cinco – recipes for Cinco de Mayo that will take less than an hour to make and cost less than $10 each to prepare. Prices are based on the cost of ingredients on FreshDirect.com, and assume that you've already got a fairly well-stocked spice rack and some basics like sugar and vanilla.

Guacamole

Sure, you could just buy some at the store, but homemade is usually tastier and will be better-received at the party. Here's an Alton Brown recipe we found on FoodNetwork.com:

•     3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled ($7.50 at $4.99 per two-pack)
•     1 lime, juiced (49 cents each)
•     1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
•     1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
•     1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•     1/2 medium onion, diced (less than 25 cents at 99 cents/lb.)
•     2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced (around 30 cents at $2.49/lb. for plum tomatoes)
•     1 teaspoon chopped cilantro (less than 10 cents at 99 cents a bunch)
•     1 clove garlic, minced (less than 10 cents at $3.69/lb.)

Total: About $8.75

From the site: "In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for one hour and then serve."