Taco & Nacho Bar

I really enjoy using my cooking to take journeys – experimenting with different flavors & cuisine from different parts of the world. It’s even more fun when you have friends and/or family with you to enjoy the foodie travels too.  I just love inviting people over to eat – and if any of y’all know Mathew McConaughey… y’all are welcome to come over too if you bring him along. 😉  Kidding!  Well, maybe. 

Mexican food is definitely one of my very favorites to eat.  The spices, the heat – the fresh flavors.  I’m a huge fan!  The only bad thing that can come with it sometimes is heartburn.  You know, heartburn isn’t limited to just greasy foods -it can affect sufferers when they explore with other cuisines as well.  That’s why so many food enthusiasts who suffer from it don’t always experiment with all these yummy flavors that are out there – which someone like me can definitely understand.  So, when Pepcid contacted me and asked me to become a Tastemaker to help encourage sufferers to pursue new foods without heartburn getting in the way, I was all on board! So many of my friends and family have issues with heartburn, and tend to stay away from certain foods – like Mexican food for instance. I was super excited to take this chance to pass out some Pepcid to my friends, and invite them over for a little foodie exploration.

What better way to explore the great flavors of Mexican food than a buffet set up? That way, all my friends in attendance could load up their plates with the food that interested them the most.  Or, for some of my friends, load up their plates with ALL of the food! And yes, that also included me!

My theme was a Taco & Nacho Bar.  Everything I had on my little buffet spread could go on either – and it turned out fabulous!

You eat with your eyes first – and I’m a big believer that colorful tablescapes are the way to go when you have company over.  Plus, all the colors definitely went with the food I served!  I found some gorgeous dishes at Hobby Lobby that were just perfect!

To amp up that color theme a little bit more, I grabbed a $5 bouquet of flowers at the grocery store and set it out on the table. Fresh flowers at any get together is a must!

Some people like steak, & some people like chicken – so I decided to go with both.  Then, I lined the meat with sliced limes so my guests could easily grab one up to squirt on their food. Plus, it made prettier… don’t you think?!

I used the recipe for my steak tacos here on the blog to do up both the beef & the chicken.  You can find that recipe here.

Of course you need some great garnishes to top your nachos & tacos.  I went with sliced pickled jalapenos, chopped cilantro, & sliced radishes.

And of course – what good is any pile of nachos (or tacos!) without cheese sauce?  I went with my very favorite homemade pepper jack cheese sauce which is out of this world.  I could literally pour this in a glass & drink it all up.  It’s that good!

You can find the recipe for my cheese sauce here.

I used corn tortillas for the tacos – and I cooked up some black beans (that I added sauteed onions & jalapenos to). And, of course, I had to have some salsa & guacamole on hand to!  To keep things simple, I bought premade salsa & guacamole in the fresh deli department, but I have recipes for both on my blog too.  You can find my pico de gallo recipe here & my bacon guacamole recipe here.

The beverage of choice for our little get together was horchatta.  If you’ve never had horchatta before, you are definitely missing out!  It’s a slightly sweet & cinnamony creamy beverage – and it’s to die for!  You can get my recipe for it here.

Everyone had so much fun piling there plates and chowing down!

I mean, c’mon – doesn’t this just look absolutely delicious?!

One of my friends literally piled all the meat & toppings on top of each other and ate it with a side of chips.  Take a look for yourself!

And, with our Pepcid on hand – no one ended up with heartburn after this glorious meal!  Even with all those jalapenos!

If you are a heartburn sufferer, I hope that I’ve inspired you do explore foods & flavors without being scared of getting heartburn – with the help of Pepcid!

Click here to get a coupon to save some money on your next purchase of Pepcid!

I have received information, product and materials from McNeil Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co., the makers of PEPCID®. The opinions stated are my own. This is a sponsored post.