Inspiration: I can be very lazy with dinner sometimes, usually on a Friday night. It’s been a long week at that point, and like everyone else, I’m tired. A lot of times we’ll go grab a beer at a pub after work or stop in somewhere for a glass of wine, and after that, it’s all over. Long week + beer/wine = lazy. So what the heck do we do for dinner on those kinds of nights? Yes!

What we Loved: This is just a fun meal all around. Being able to sample so many different items is really a treat. There’s such a variance in flavors – spicy sausage, creamy cheese and avocado, crisp lettuce, sweet tomatoes, rich baked beans, a little of this and a little of that. We loved mixing and matching the different flavors. This is a good Friday or Saturday night dinner that’s fun and delicious, and it’s already one of our favorites.

Tips: The possibilities are endless with a meal like this. We’ve actually had this meal three times before it even made it onto the blog, and the other couple of times I switched out some of the ingredients for some sauteed poblano peppers and onions, a dollop of sour cream, and sliced green chiles. And if I wouldn’t have gotten lazy last time, I would have added a nice sunny-side up egg as well. I also think that pico de gallo, pickled red onions, guacamole, roasted sweet potatoes, or crumbled Mexican chorizo are some great options. So yes, there are a million roads to take with this fun dinner. In fact, I’m going to have to use some of those options to make a completely different Mexican/Southwest-style plate. I’m also excited to use this idea to try different variations of all of our favorite cuisines, with Mediterranean being next (homemade hummus, cucumber slices, black olives, chunks of feta cheese, maybe some white beans with oregano….).

Mexican/Southwest-Style Sampler Plate
Source: Inspired by Bunny.Eats.Design.

Load up a plate with all of your favorite ingredients. I used: Spanish chorizo, grape tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper, chopped romaine hearts topped with salsa verde, leftover white beans cooked in Belgian style beer, avocado slices seasoned with salt, goat cheese, and cilantro.