Around here, there is something to look forward to on each day of the week. Though Monday boasts band practice and Friday promises family movie night, that special “something” usually has to do with food on the other five days of the week. Tuesday is the day for tacos – and that excites all four of us. If the rest of the day is crummy, at least we know we’ll be enjoying a little fiesta come 5 o’clock.

Last week, when we were up to our ears in pumpkins, we tried them out on taco night. We ended up with two variations of tacos, realizing the pumpkin taco “meat” might not fly with the boys. A little disguising of ingredients never hurts.

The adult version:

Pumpkin & chanterelle mushrooms browned in olive oil in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet with cumin, oregano, just a touch of dried sage, garlic, kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper. Mound the softened vegetables in warmed gf corn tortillas. Don’t forget the Cholula! Serve with sides of brown rice and black beans.

The kid version:

Add some of the browned pumpkin (lightly seasoned with the ingredients above) to the pot of black beans and, using a potato masher, smash the pumpkin and beans together. Layer a spoonful of the bean mash and a spoonful of brown rice in the middle of a warmed gf corn tortilla and roll it up tightly to form burrito rolls. For some reason the food goes down a heck of a lot easier when my kids can’t inspect it first. A burrito roll up keeps them from turning their noses up to new ingredients on the first go around. Once they are hooked, then I tell them what they’ve just enjoyed. It saves us from unnecessary dinner table drama.