HEALTHY RECIPE and a few giggles to boot.

I happened upon a healthy lentil taco recipe a few weeks ago. As we are trying to eat less processed food and more whole, healthy foods, my curiosity was peaked. I read through the ingredients and, wanting to satisfy everyone, I concluded the following;
1. I would love it.
2. Carl would eat it.
3. My kids would call CPS and tell them I was trying to poison them.

Okay, so I went with fact #1 above (hey, when you know someone will love it, you don't waste brain cells trying to come up with plan B.) To my complete surprise, Carl, Olivia and I really liked it and the littles ate it. No,not the same as "liked", but no gags and no complaints. That's a win-win in my opinion. I'll get to the recipe in a moment, but first.....a few things my kids said that tickled my funny bone today.

While I was changing Brandon's poopy diaper, Olivia noticed it was formed as opposed to the usual mush that young infants often produce (nice visual, I know.) She apparently found this to be super big significant because she nearly jumped out of her skin with excitement.

"MOM," she squealed with pride, "he made real poop. It's really, really real, Mom!"

Now I mean this ever so humbly, but...my multi-talents are endless. See, it's really quite difficult to master giggling and gagging at the same time, but you'll rest easy knowing I did it after she said that.

And then this afternoon, we were making a paper mosaic Tree Swallow for a "Birds in our Yard" lapbook (they turned out sooo adorable and I'll upload a picture after my digital battery recharges.) I had made mine first to use as an example for the kids.

Olivia was working on hers unassisted, while I helped Reece and Cierah. Suddenly, I realized I had made a mistake on my sample and subsequently on Reece's bird as well (treating a branch as part of the wing). Olivia had not yet made the same mistake so I pointed it out, saying, "It's too late for us but you can do it the correct way if you prefer."

Reece took the conversation in, staring at his finished bird, with mistake already made. Suddenly, his face lit up.
"High fives, Momma. We did it the wrong way!" I sat there giggling, yet dumbfounded at how he processed my words.

Okay, now for the yummy taco recipe. You really need to try this. It's healthy and I promise you won't miss the meat. And it's loaded with flavor. Back off on the chili seasoning if you don't like a slight "nip" to it. Otherwise, it's so flavorful as is. After all, they never did call CPS on me.

LENTIL TACOS
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1 chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced (I used the garlic in a jar.)
1 tsp canola oil
1 cup dry lentils

2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dry oregano

2½ cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa (I use mild)

1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped raw onion
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
1½ cups shredded sharp cheddar
8 oz sour cream
12 hard taco shells

-Saute onion and garlic in oil.
-Add seasonings and lentils and stir for 1 minute.
-Add broth and bring to boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 40 minutes or until tender (keep well covered, as this step can be a challenge to get just right.)
-Uncover and cook until thickened (0-8 minutes)
-Stir in salsa.
-Assemble tacos and enjoy!

Toni