sprinklefingers

all you mothers out there, i know you’re with me when i say that it would be a dream come true if your kid would eat exactly what the grown-ups eat for dinner every night, right?

in general my kid DOES eat what we eat each night, and if he doesn’t eat it exactly how we eat it he’ll at least eat components of the meal (most likely separated from each other.) for example, say we’re having homemade chicken noodle soup. the grown ups will eat the soup as-is, but for him i’ll take the chicken & veggies out of the broth and let him eat them with a fork. this works perfectly and we all are, basically, eating the same thing for dinner. kinda perfect.

then tonight rolled around and our fridge was down to corn tortillas, leftover chicken, cheese and some green salsa. throw in an onion and it’s enchiladas for dinner! perfect!

as i started making dinner i had it in the back of my mind that there was no way in hell i was going to be able to convince the kid to eat enchiladas. no matter how much he likes salsa. so i started thinking of ways to explain them to him so that he’d find them appealing:

it’s just like a quesadilla only rolled up and softer!
these are tacos!
this is almost like pizza only it has salsa on it! (i admit, this one makes no sense. but he really loves pizza so i thought it was worth a shot.)
they serve these at mexican restaurants! let’s play restaurant!

dinner time rolled around and the kid sauntered past the table making an assessment of what was adorning the plates. before even sitting down he said, “i don’t want what you’re having.” and i say, “oh, that’s too bad! we’re having tacos! just like they have at mexican restaurants.” he says, “they don’t look like tacos.” and i say, “i know. that’s because i made them myself and sometimes i’m not very good at cooking.” at that he laughed and said (god love him), “oh stop it, mommy. you are a good cooker lady.”

he finally sat down and the husband and i started eating our salads and enchiladas - talking about the day, trying to get a word in edgewise when there’s a three year old at the table. meanwhile the kid is eating everysinglebite of his applesauce. when the bowl is empty he sets down his spoon and says, “i want a taco now. please.”

i practically tripped over myself racing to the baking dish wanting to get his ‘taco’ to him before he changed his mind. i cut off an edge and pushed it onto a fork and handed it to him. he stuck it in his mouth without even thinking…he made a face…then he said, “oh, i love these tacos. they are spicy and sweet all at the same time.” THAT’S my boy!

super easy and somewhat embarrassing to post enchiladas

you need:

• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 12 or so corn tortillas
• 4 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
• 8 oz jack cheese, shredded
• 3 cups salsa verde, plus more for serving (can be store bought or homemade)

to make the enchiladas:

1. preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. coat the bottom of a 9x13 glass baking dish with 1 cup salsa.
3. melt a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. add the sliced onion and cook until browned and caramely, about 20 minutes. remove from heat.
4. wrap the corn tortillas in a clean kitchen towel. wet the towel a tiny bit then microwave the whole thing for 30-40 seconds. alternatively, wrap the tortillas in foil and heat in the oven until they’re bendable.
5. in a mixing bowl combine 1.5 cups (or 4 oz) shredded cheese, the shredded chicken, 3/4 cup salsa and the onions.
6. spread 1/4 cup chicken filling down the middle of each tortilla and roll them up. place them in the baking dish seam-side down.
7. once all the tortillas have been filled and rolled, top them with a bit more salsa and remaining cheese.
8. cover the glass baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
9. serve with additional salsa and sour cream.

i have no photos. but i’m certain we’ll have to resort to these embarrassingly easy ‘enchiladas’ in the very near future and i promise i’ll remember to snap a photo then. really.