I don’t know why, but when I think of Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday) I always think of indulging in Mexican food. But Mardi Gras takes place in New Orleans and as far as I know, it’s not Mexican food their eating during Fat Tuesday. It’s creole food, which I absolutely know nothing about other than I know they eat gumbo, shrimp, and other Southern spicy things. I guess it’s high time for me to take a trip to Louisiana!
But here’s why I think about Mexican food when I hear the words Mardi Gras. I blame it all on the Fat Tuesday bar in Las Vegas. I ordered a Margarita when I was there a million years ago and margaritas make me think of Mexican cuisine. Not Southern creole.
But whatevs! We are going to celebrate Mardi Gras (which is next Tuesday, March 5) with Mexican food. WHO’S WITH ME? Now that we’re all on the same page, can we just talk about how cute these are? It’s like the easiest dinner to throw together. I cooked up the turkey with some spices and diced green chillies and then the rest was cake. I just set out an assembly line of ingredients that I like in my tacos; black beans, corn, olives, cilantro, and salsa and I let the kids and Josh put however much they wanted into their little lettuce cups and they loved it! Josh was worried that this wouldn’t be a filling dinner, but we each had two and were very full afterwards. These are also VERY healthy. Think along the lines of 130 calories per wrap. No guilt and all flavor. I left the cheese out because I wanted to see if I would miss it and I didn’t.
I promise you guys will love these as much as we did and if you’ve got kids, they will really love getting to eat dinner with their hands.
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: approx 12
Ingredients
- 1 large head iceberg lettuce, cored and sliced in half
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 7 oz (1 can) Ortega diced green chiles
- 15 oz (1 can) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 oz (1 can) corn, drained
- 15 oz (1 can) black olives, drained and sliced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Cooking Directions
- In a skillet, brown ground turkey. Once browned, stir in spices and chiles, heating over a low flame for about five minutes.
- Set out lettuce wraps and pour turkey, black beans, corn, olives, and cilantro in separate bowls, creating an assembly line so everyone can fill their lettuce cups with the fillings.
- Top with salsa, sour cream, and any other toppings you desire.