Mexican-Style Macaroni and Bean Skillet

Well, I’d planned to share a recipe for Mexican chocolate cheesecake with you today in honor of Cinco de Mayo. How good does that sound? Unfortunately, I had my first major cheesecake FAIL of my entire life last night. I’m still not entirely sure what went wrong. I cooked the cheesecake for forty minutes longer than the recipe suggested, and it still came out of the oven basically uncooked. No, scratch that: completely uncooked. When I removed the springform part of the pan, the cheesecake pretty much gushed everywhere. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to do that. It’s a shame, too, because the batter tasted absolutely delicious. I’m going to play around with the recipe and try it again (I think the recipe called for too many eggs -- six!), and maybe I’ll share it with you later. I’d planned to take it to a potluck that we’re having at work today, but obviously that didn’t happen. Thank goodness for this strawberry margarita cake, which is so easy to throw together and which everyone loves!

At least I still have a Mexican-style recipe to share with you today. I found this on Kat’s blog, and I knew right away that I wanted to try it. I’m always looking for new vegetarian recipes, and when I find one that has Mexican flavors it’s a double win, because Mexican food is my favorite food in the entire world. This was incredibly cheap, easy, and quick to make, and it tasted really good too. Next time I’ll use black beans instead of kidney beans (just because I like them better) and also add some corn and cilantro. We all really enjoyed this. Thanks for the recipe, Kat!

Here are some of my other favorite Mexican-style dishes to get you in the mood to celebrate today:

White chicken enchiladas with green chile sour cream sauce
Fiesta ravioli bake
Pulled chicken suiza sandwiches
Chicken and cheese crescent chimichangas
Chicken fajita lasagna
Cheesy salsa mini meatloaves
Chicken taco pizza
Taco puffs

Pineapple and green chile pork tacos
Chicken tortilla soup
Taco joes
Creamy baked chicken taquitos with creamy lime-cilantro dressing
Crock pot chicken with black beans and cream cheese
Mexican sour cream rice
Mexican chicken stuffed shells

Okay, now I'm STARVING. The potluck can't come soon enough!

Mexican-Style Macaroni and Bean Skillet
source: adapted from New Wife Experiment, originally from Betty Crocker

1 12-ounce jar salsa
6 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
1 1/4 cups water
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

Salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Heat all ingredients except cheese to boiling in 10-inch nonstick skillet; reduce heat.

2. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until macaroni is tender. Sprinkle with cheese and top with sour cream, if desired (I did desire).