You may have noticed—or you may not have noticed—that Cheap Bastid hasn’t been doing much cooking or recipe posting lately. That’s not a rumor. It’s a fact.

I don’t really know how these big muckety-muck foodie-bloggers manage to post every day with hundreds and hundreds of recipes. My problem is two-fold. I have to work to afford to eat and selling cars for a living not only takes a lot of time but it also seems to kill every creative brain-cell. The second thing is that I’ve got a lot of recipes that I’ve written about and sometimes I like to cook and eat a dish again—rather than making it once, writing about it and then not cooking it again.

I’m just saying.

So, onto the topic of the day—Spicy Mexican Carrots. One thing we like about getting Mexican food is the side of hot carrots that usually comes in a plastic bag with our carry-out carne asada burrito. This is something you’re not going to get at Taco Bell or other franchise eateries. We love ‘em—and in true Cheap Bastid fashion I thought to myself—“Self, you can make these. It can’t be too hard and it’s got to be cheap.”

So I set out on a quest to replicate this delicacy that we enjoy so much. And it really is easy. You can make them as spicy-hot as you want. The recipe combines some heat with some acid and a bit of sweetness all of which treat your tastebuds like a playground.

(print recipe at bottom)

Summary: Ever wonder how they make those really tasty and spicy carrots at a Mexican restaurant? Cheap Bastid figured it out and it’s simple, cheap and tasty!

Ingredients 1-2 lbs carrots

3-6 jalapenos

½ sliced onion (white or red)

1 ½ cup white vinegar

¾ cup water

¼ cup sugar

1-2 cloves chopped garlic

½ tbsp dried oregano

Instructions Note: The reason for 1-2 lbs carrots and 3-6 jalapenos is simple—make as much of this as you want and make them as spicy or mild as you want. It’s up to you and your taste buds.

Get out your cutting board, chef’s knife, peeler, 4 quart sauce pan (glass if you have it) and a non-reactive storage container.

Peel the carrots. Then slice them on a diagonal about 1/8 inch thick. Slice the jalapenos on a diagonal too. Cut slices of onion about ¼ inch thick.

Put the vinegar, water and sugar into the pot. Turn to medium and bring to a simmer. Add the garlic and oregano and let simmer for 2-3 minutes stirring to make sure sugar is dissolved.

Add the carrots, jalapeno and onion. Stir everything together to make sure it’s covered with the liquid.

Turn heat off burner. Cover the pot and let it steep for 1 hour.

Put the vegetables and liquid into the storage container and refrigerate.

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6

(Print recipe at bottom)

How easy is that? This takes maybe 20 minutes to make and it’s really simple. You can make these as spicy or as tame as you’d like. Just adjust the amount of jalapeno you use. The flavors of this are playful with that bit of acid and sweetness dueling with the spiciness.

These are great with Mexican food and they’ll be terrific at a cookout or picnic or potluck.

The Cheap Bastid Test: A pound of carrots, a pound of onion and a pound of jalapenos are each $1 a pound. So you’ll spend maybe $1.50. The other ingredients will set you back about another $.50. All total, figure on $2. That’s really reasonable for making something this tasty and this fun.

That’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good. Eat Cheap. Be Grateful!