I know, it’s Taco Tuesday, but like most busy families, we have to improvise.

As a military family we have learned to adapt and improvise. We’ve learned that holidays don’t necessarily have to happen on the day they were meant to. Christmas might be a week or two early, or six months late, depending on scheduling. Scheduling also changes every day, what may be happening one day, might not be the next. When Daddy is away, Daddy Doll comes out to play (we got our from Hug-a-Hero, they are wonderful and have withstood a lot of hugs and peanut butter and jelly covered kisses). I have had to learn to be flexible and just ‘go with it’, which has been a learning process as I like a set schedule. All of the changes can be exhausting.

My address book is filled with penciled in addresses. Most of my friends move every 18 months-3 years, it would be pointless to write in pen. This is our third move in four years. My husband estimates we have spent 90 days since we got married, homeless. He has a joke, “We are homeless and car-less. Most people would think that’s tragic, we call it PCS.” We’re really just between homes right now. Life’s an adventure.

So, Taco Tuesday occurred on Sunday, we’re pretending it’s Tuesday. Here’s the great thing about Taco’s, they are kid friendly and have endless possibilities. Due to lack of kitchen equipment, mine came out of a box, but…here’s how I would make them in my kitchen.

Seasoned Taco Meat:

• 1-1/4 pounds ground beef, I usually use ground turkey or sometimes lentils
• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1-1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Cook Beef/turkey and onions or boil lentils then sauté with onions. Drain. Add water and spices. Bring to boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until water is absorbed.

We always use soft tacos (flour tortillas), it’s just preference.

I LOVE refried beans. I mean, they are just really really yummy, but it’s a preference. I use Ellie Krieger’s Recipe and think it’s fantastic.

Then, we just cut up tomatoes, peppers, onions, lettuce and buy a bag of Mexican seasoned cheese. We also have sour cream and taco sauce or salsa. If you’re ever on Oahu on a Thursday evening, check out the Farmers Market in Kailua. There is a vendor there that makes the BEST salsa. I think I ate the entire dish of it over a course of two days, it was amazing.

(Again, sorry for the terrible photos. I will dig my camera out at some point.)

Everyone gets to pick what they want on their taco, some just want meat and cheese others want loaded tacos, either way, everyone leaves the dinner table feelings satisfied (which is hard to come by with two toddlers who are slowly becoming more vocal about their food likes and dislikes, I feel like a short order chef somedays).