Let’s face it: weeknight dinners can be tricky. There usually isn’t enough time to prep the ingredients, no one wants to run out to the grocery store for last minute additions, and chances are (in my household, at least), there’s a cranky, hungry child following you around asking for another snack every 5 minutes because he’s “starving.” While it isn’t the healthiest, sometimes you have to incorporate takeout into the routine. And when Logan one day excitedly declared that he came up with a “recipe” for burrito bowls and was going to cook dinner for us, we happily obliged, even if it meant Daddy had to stop at the neighborhood taqueria on the way home from work.

Logan described his imagined “recipe” as follows: some carne asada nestled on a bed of shredded lettuce, topped with a tortilla (specifically a plain tortilla and not a quesadilla which he hates), surrounded by rice and some chips. Simple enough.

Daddy stopped by the taqueria and brought home refried beans, Spanish rice, chips, salsa, and the carne asada. We got out the cheese, lettuce, and tortillas, which we already had on hand, and he set up a little assembly station for Chef Logan to compile his masterpiece.

Logan had a great time assembling his dinner and seeing his vision come to life. It was the first time I had seen him so excited about “cooking” and preparing dinner. It actually looked pretty tasty once it was all done. After showing me his creation, he anxiously waited for Daddy to finish assembling his own dinner, a slightly different version of what Logan had made. Logan had so much fun preparing his food that he told us he wants to cook for us every night. At this point in the trenches of pregnancy nausea, I’ll take it!

Overall, it was less about the healthfulness of the meal and more about instilling the joy of cooking in a young child. By mixing takeout and ingredients we already had, we saved time and money. Next time, I’ll encourage Logan to chop some vegetables to add to his burrito bowl and maybe have him make some homemade guacamole with me. He’s still not big into condiments like salsa, guacamole, or sour cream, but I’m sure if he makes it himself he’ll be much more likely to taste and enjoy it.