Tacos for Toddlers

Our grandsons like Tacos. Now this has way more to do with Control Over Their Lives than eating. We have free reign and free choice when it comes to making your tacos. We have shells. We have lettuce, tomatoes, sliced green olives, and sliced ripe olives. We have shredded cheese. We have, of course, the hamburger/taco salsa mix, green onions, chopped. We have sour cream, hot salsa, and homemade salsa verde. It is a Mexican smorgasbord. Each person makes their own concoction. Boy, is it silent when we start to make our own tacos. And it is even more silent when we start to eat. It is about 20 minutes of silence and we make tacos and eat.

The boys love making their own meal out of the things they love to eat. The only thing we insist

they eat or drink is their milk, which they do every time they eat here.

Tacos:

Buy a good Tacos Mix at the store. You need a pound of hamburger. Cook according to directions.

The "accoutrements" are the fun part. Lettuce torn in small pieces: chopped tomatoes: chopped green onions; chopped green peppers; sliced green olives; sliced ripe olives (double that for our grandsons); hot tomato salsa; my homemade Salsa Verde (green salsa available at stores); diced green peppers; grated cheese; sour cream--muchos muchos (our grandchildren think the sour cream is the best part).

Have tacos shells and/or the little 'salad bowls' the boys like also because you can eat them.

Try as they might, the little guys just can't find a fault with this meal. All is well.....and quiet on the western front when we eat this midwestern supper.

KMG/Mom/grndmm

Spring is on the Way In the Mornin'

Have you noticed that it is getting Lighter in Mornin" (ha, ha, to those in on the "mornin'" joke). Anyway, it is daylight savings this Sunday. Remember to get up at 2:00 a.m. and set your clock ahead so YOU ARE NOT LATE FOR CHURCH!. (Another ha, ha for many of my readers).

Now, RECIPES.

Well, Joe was sick today--bad stuff of throwing up and diarrea-man I don't want that crap, so Peter and I deferred on taking the boys tonight. But I did make tomorrow's supper, in part, and it is a good recipe. So I give it to you here. This is for left over baked chicken.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Some left over baked chicken, off the bone and cut up in pieces.

Make a White Sauce.

WHITE SAUCE

Half a stick of butter (1/4 c.)

Melt in a sauce pan.

About 1/4 cup of flour, more or less, depending. Mix over heat.

Keep heat on medium.

Add milk slowly and beat with a wire whisk or fork.

It will thickenen up right away with the milk, but keep adding and stirring over heat until it is a nice thickness you like.

Then i like to add some soups, but you don't have to. I like to add cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups from cans. Add more milk if desired.

When it is a gravy consistantsy, add the cut up leftover chicken, canned pimentos for color, canned mushrooms if you like. At the end add frozen peas.

DUMPLINGS

Bisquick. The recipe is on the side of the box. 2 cups bisquick and 2/3 cup milk. Mix. Spoon over the boiling chicken mixture and reduce heat. Cook uncovered 10 minutes. Cover and cook 10 more minutes. This will give you the best and fluffiest dumplings on earth!

This will be a first for the boys. I like to have mashed potatoes with this to put the extra gravy over.

KMGMOM