Taco Friday

Everybody loves tacos in our house. It's a meal that has broad appeal and also happens to be cheap and easy. We tend to have tacos on Friday nights because, well, I'm not exactly sure why... it just evolved and now everybody looks forward to them on Friday nights. Usually a couple of stray neighborhood kids wander in around dinner time because they know our Friday night ritual.

You need not follow a recipe for tacos. Being creative is half of the fun. Here's how we make ours, but feel free to add or delete whatever you want! There are no rules. Experiment with different spices such as cumin, chili powder, etc., to create your own special taco spice blend to season the meat with. I have a set of plastic bowls that I put the taco fillings in and let everybody come on up and build their own. Here's what I put out in my bowls:

• cooked meat (browned hamburger, or shredded cooked chicken)
• shredded cheese (cheddar)
• chopped black olives
• shredded lettuce
• chopped green onions
• chopped tomato
• sour cream
  
• guacamole (living in California avocados are pretty available)
• corn tortillias (I fry mine in about 1/2 inch of oil -- I find the store bought pre-shaped shells are brittle breaking apart when you bite into them and tasteless. You can use flour tortillias if you like if you don't want to fry them.)
• taco sauce/salsa
• refried beans

Blow the chow whistle and let the troops fill their plates.