Relishments

Savoring life in the Berkshires

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My Sanity Saving Taco Bar

Published on March 22, 2011 By Emily. Updated on February 18, 2013

My parents came to visit last weekend.  We had a lovely time, checking out the Berkshire Museum (the M.C. Escher exhibit is highly recommended) and catching up.  I really wanted them to meet a couple of our friends from church, so I gave our friends a call to see when we could all meet up.  Somehow in the course of that brief conversation, I committed myself to hosting the whole crew for dinner: my parents, Brian and I, our friends from church and their 3 children.  9 people.

Once the initial shock wore off, I came up with a plan to serve all 9 of us without making myself miserable in the process.

I gave choices. I decided almost immediately that a make your own taco bar was the right way to go for our evening.  Allowing our guests to make their own tacos meant I didn’t have to worry too much about what people did and didn’t eat.  I could provided vegetarian and non-vegetarian options and people could top their tacos as they wished.  I provided beef, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato, salsa, sour cream and onions.

I delegated. When my friend Doris asked what she could bring for dinner, I wasn’t too proud to accept.  Silly as it may sound, I asked her to make the rice.  I hate making rice.  I’ve heard that a rice maker would be the solution to this problem, but I refuse to buy another appliance.  Anyway, her bringing the rice eliminated a lot of stress in my life.

I compromised a little. In an ideal world, I’d make my own taco seasoning, serve humanely raised organic beef and use real dishes.  With 2 days to plan this meal and no interest in spending my parents visit in the kitchen or all of my paycheck on meat, I adjusted accordingly.  I bought 2 packages of McCormick low sodium taco seasoning (which I grew up on), normal supermarket ground beef and paper plates.  In my defense, I only have enough dishes for 8, so the plates were sort of a necessity.

I prepped some stuff the night before. Friday night I cooked and seasoned the beef.  Saturday morning I shredded the cheese and chopped the tomatoes.  Nothing else for the meal was difficult to prepare, so the hour before the fun started wasn’t stressful.

I made my guests do the work. The make your own taco bar meant that the only tacos I had to assemble were my own.  I didn’t pour drinks either: we put all the beverage options out on the counter and let everyone fend for themselves.  People are smart, they can manage.

We didn’t eat at the table. Our dining room table seats 6, if we’re lucky.  So we set up some extra chairs in the living room, plus our plastic folding tables, and ate there.  The kids sat at the coffee table, which is where Brian and I usually eat anyway, so it seemed totally normal.

I made plenty of food. I was a little worried that I’d run of out food.  How much do a 7, 9 and 13 year old eat?  I made 2 pounds of beef, 2 cans of black beans and heated 26 tortillas.  At the end of the night, we had 1 serving of assorted fillings and 3 hard shell tortillas left.  Perfect.  The taco bar also allowed people to freely get more food when they wanted to.

I didn’t worry about the little things. So what if my serving dishes didn’t match?  The point of having everyone over was to socialize, not to show off my Fiesta collection.  I focused on that goal and, as a result, so did everyone else.

I had such a good time and felt so accomplished when the night was over.  I can’t wait to do it again.  (Thanks again to Brian for doing the dishes!)

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Comments

  1. Allison says

    March 22, 2011 at 9:22 pm

    Don’t fight the rice cooker. I paid about $10 for mine and use it almost every day, since Alex loves rice. It requires no brain power to use–and seems to know the difference between white & brown, as both come out great.

    • Emily says

      March 23, 2011 at 5:35 am

      But it must be possible to make good rice without one, yes? Anyway, there’s no room in our current apartment for any more kitchen gadgets. Guess I’ll add a rice cooker (I knew “rice maker” didn’t sound right when I wrote it!) to my “when we get a house” list as well!

  2. Duane Brunell says

    March 22, 2011 at 9:50 pm

    It was quite yummy…Well done and everyone did enjoy…and I did not have to eat the beans! Thanks for the nice weekend. It makes a nice presentation on the table too…all those choices.

    • Emily says

      March 23, 2011 at 5:35 am

      Thanks, Dad!

Trackbacks

  1. Goals in Progress: March (+ April Food Day!) » Relishments says:
    July 7, 2013 at 6:04 pm

    […]  Open our home at least once a month Done!  I’m still thrilled with the fact that I hosted 9 people for dinner!  Brian and I are brainstorming who’s up for April.  Anyone […]

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It was a cold and cloudy morning, but we made it t It was a cold and cloudy morning, but we made it to our second annual strawberry picking at @mountainviewfarm413, which included E's first tractor ride (she was very excited). We picked about 9 pounds of strawberries and I'm looking forward to eating them! 🍓
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I don't have clear words to express my feelings ab I don't have clear words to express my feelings about the state of the world lately. As a teacher and a mother, it has been extra difficult this week to be fully present in my roles without thinking about innocent lives that should have had longer on Earth. How what has happened in each of the many mass shootings this year can happen anywhere. If you are feeling sad and frustrated too, you are not alone.

I don't have answers, but I'm trying to take care of myself and my biological and school families. I'm saying "I love you" a lot to my children and my students. I'm closely following and sharing the work of @everytown while contacting my state and federal representatives and the president. I'm going for walks and getting fresh air and trying not to overload on news. I'm sharing good resources in my stories as I see them.
UPDATE: the giveaway is now CLOSED. Congrats @aloh UPDATE: the giveaway is now CLOSED. Congrats @alohr3!

 @thelazygenius' second book, The Lazy Genius Kitchen, is finally here and I'm so excited! I don't purchase many books, but I pre-ordered this last July because I knew it would be right up my alley and then I pre-ordered a second copy because I knew that I'd want to give one away.

Author Kendra Adachi has been one of my favorite voices in recent years. Her principles (shared through her first book, The Lazy Genius Podcast and her Instagram) have helped me focus my priorities and give myself more grace. 

This book is NOT a cookbook (it has just 2 recipes), it is a kitchen guide - to help you "have what you need, use what you have, and enjoy it like never before". It is beautiful (full color!) and thoughtful.

I'm very excited to send this book to one of you.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below with one of your greatest kitchen struggles. 
I'll draw a winner at 8 pm on Friday, May 6.
This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram or The Lazy Genius, Kendra Adachi.
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This morning we took advantage of @massmoca's Berk This morning we took advantage of @massmoca's Berkshire Teacher and Social Worker Appreciation Day free admission. After enjoying the student Art Invitational exhibit, the 4 of us took in several of the other galleries. Mass MoCA always impresses and it was delightful to be able to be out in the world with my kids.
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My January and early February menu plans for my @m My January and early February menu plans for my @mightyfoodfarm vegetables are finally up on the blog. See how we're making use of these beautiful items, as well as the items from the other pick up we made in the past month. 
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One of my favorite things to do is bake from scrat One of my favorite things to do is bake from scratch.
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