We have a policy in our house that the kids all need to learn to be able to do several things on their own. Some of the things are fairly expected and mundane such as a variety of cleaning chores — kitchen, laundry, dishes, floors, bathroom, etc.

The item that surprises some friends is my expectation that the kids need to learn to cook. Nothing fancy, they just need to be able to feed themselves. Not that they do actually cook on a regular basis – they just need to know how.

Our oldest child was always the most amenable of all three to learning and helping out.

Since moving back home, I’ve learned that the kid has become very good at a particular speciality of meal creation.

The concept at hand being the idea of turning all sorts of leftovers into an interesting variety of nachos. It is like a magical food recreation.

Leftover Chicken Terriyaki? No problem. Regular chips, spread the chicken out, add a layer of mozzarella or other mild cheese, broil and voila!

The variety is endless.

Tonight, the kid transformed leftover fire roasted pulled chicken into delicious nachos.

While not traditional, I like the ideation and the simplicity. Plus, leftovers being consumed rather than wasted is a significant positive.

All in all, at least I know one of the three could fend for themselves.

277 Days to go

#OTR50