Mmmm, tacos. (Photo by Thinkstock)
I like to think about food. I like to meal plan. I like to be creative in the kitchen. I like to involve my kiddo. But sometimes, I get in a rut — and I make the same things over and over. Because they're easy and because I don't need a list when I go to the grocery store. And because I know I can make them in 20 minutes — ya know, before my kiddo melts down and before my husband eats all the snacks in the pantry.
My fallback lately is Taco (bowl) Tuesday. And, even though I sometimes feel like it's kind of lazy, I highly recommend it.
What I like about taco night is simple:
It can easily fit our allergy profile and is modifiable. So, hubby can have cheese or sour cream if he wants.
One meal for everyone. My son wants his foods kept separate. Fine. Rice is separate from meat is separate from beans. Hubby and I can layer ours and eat a more complex bite. And as my son gets older, I think he'll really enjoy the opportunity to assemble his own dinner.
It's fast. The thing that takes the longest is the rice, which is about 20 minutes.
We can vary it. I've does the same meat and spice mixture a lot recently, but you can mix it up: green chili pork, red chili chicken, ground beef, shredded beef, fish. Different cheeses if you do cheese, different salsas, different beans, guacamole, different fresh veggies. You could do tostadas or tacos or burritos. So many options!
Plus, it's just nice to not have to think about what's for dinner every so often. And this is a simple way to do that.