Tacos & Guacamole

We made guacamole.

I only had two cravings while pregnant: dried apricots and guacamole. There was a time when I would go to Chipotle at least twice a week. After deciding that I need not eat out so much, I thought about it and realized what I really wanted was the guacamole. So I started making it myself. I would go through at least 4 avocados worth of guacamole each week.

The first solid food that I offered Kiddo (at 6 months) was mushed up avocado. She was not interested. I tried on several occasions, but she never wanted it. Then, one day she stuck her hand in some guacamole I had prepared and kept eating it. She still loves guacamole and I think she must have developed a taste for it in utero.

But I digress…

Guacamole:

• 2 ripe avocados
• pico de gallo (or other yummy salsa)
• garlic powder
• lemon (or lime) juice
• salt
• pepper

Directions

1. Cut the avocados in half, and remove the seeds. Kiddo liked watching this part.
2. Score the flesh of the avocados.
3. Let your toddler scoop the avocado into a bowl (1st picture). This is a great time to talk about the parts of the fruit and for tasting. Kiddo still does not like plain avocado, but she tasted a bit to be sure.
4. Mash the avocado chunks with a fork until the desired consistency is reached. We like ours a little chunky. Kiddo and I both did the mashing (she lost interested before it was ready).
5. Add a few tablespoons of pico/salsa and stir. This is a great toddler job. Kiddo loved it, and would have liked to add a lot more than I wanted.
6. Add the garlic, lemon juice (a teaspoon, maybe), salt and pepper to taste this is another great step for your toddler to do. Kiddo really likes juicing lemons.
7. Put the seeds back in the bowl, cover, and refrigerate guacamole until serving.

Tacos*:

• 2 tsp dried minced onion
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp dried minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
• canola or other vegetable oil (omit oil if using beef)
• flour tortillas/ hard tacos shells
• taco toppings of your choice

Directions

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Usually, I measure and Kiddo dumps, but today I let her measure and dump (the last two pictures).
2. Cook the meat until browned (drain fat if necessary). Add the spice mixture and water.
3. Cook the meat and sauce until it boils. Reduce heat to simmer, and allow sauce to thicken. Stir frequently to coat all of the meat.
4. Assemble tacos: allow toddler to add toppings to her (or his) own taco.

* I got the seasoning recipe from Allrecipies.com. I cut the salt in half and omitted the cayenne due to my family’s preferences. Here is the original recipe: taco seasoning