Tacos are the food of my father's country of Mexico. This is truly a recipe for life. The taco has many vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, and nutrients to keep anyone healthy. A taco is like a Mexican sandwich. Just like our sandwiches, the taco can be made up of any different kind of meat and vegetables.

Tacos are really delicious, and that's why many Americans in the United States like them. Tacos belong to a class of food called Antojitos, which means "little cravings." The average Mexican mother starts to make the taco by first making the tortilla. Corn tortillas are traditionally made from scratch. The dried corn is ground up on a metate, which is a stone tablet used for grinding. The corn flour is then mixed with water and lime to make a soft dough, like bread dough. Then you must knead the dough, separate the dough into spoon-sized balls, about one and one half inches in diameter, then pat the dough back-and-forth between your hands like your clapping. Soon you will have a small tortilla, which can be cooked over a hot griddle by turning it three times within a minute.

The tortilla should puff up like a small round pillow. Make enough tacos for everyone to have as many as they want. When they're done, wrap them in a special linen cloth called a Sirvillieta. For the filling, cook what- ever kind of meat you like, for example hamburger.

Chop your favorite vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and lettuce. Shred your favorite cheese. Now, if you want to do it American buffet style, let everyone grab a tortilla and fill it with whatever they want. Tacos are like sandwiches, you can eat them on the run, and take the taco with you when you go home or on the road. Yo Quero Taco Bell!

My great grandmother was originally from Canada. She was the family founder of this recipe. My great grandmother passed it down to my grandmother who passed it down to my mother. It was originally made with fried crispy bits, but when passed down to my mother, it was made with clams or other substitutes for the pork.

In Montana, my great grandmother raised a family of six. In early fall, the ritual of potato soup would begin, and then keep the family warm throughout the crisp, cold winter. The soup would also be served on holidays and other important events.

Back then, the ingredients for the soup would be potatoes, a broth or stock, onions, butter, cream and bacon. Now a days, when my mother makes it, the ingredients have many substitutes, such as vegies, and clams! My mother remembers the long winter days when her mother would make the soup; she could smell the bacon's robust aroma drifting through the house. As the years went by, the family recipe changed in many ways, always having the same story to tell- except it had a few added things to spice it up. Back when the soup was first made, it was probably served with poached venison. Now, it is served with other meats or vegies that are store bought. This would most likely be due to economic growth and changes in the family structure. That's all for potato soup!

My mom's boyfriend, Scott, has a special potato soup that is from Austria-Hungary, in an area aroud Prague. Scottt's grandmother was taught by her mother and she by her's and so on. Scott's mom was the one who taught him how to make the soup, and every Christmas Eve he makes it for us. Scott's grandma immigrated to the United States and lived in Pennsylvania where she cooked for her husband and seven kids. The soup has of course potatoes, green beans, and is flavored with sour cream and onions.

I really like this soup and so does Scott and my whole family. My sister, Terri, said she didn't want any because of the green beans, but I let her have some of mine and she loved it. She and I both picked out the green beans though, and the onions too. I really like to eat mine with sourdough bread.

This is an important tradition for Scott because he likes traditional things. He likes hanging Christmas lights, going out and buying presents, opening presents, decorating the Christmas tree with us, and making his delicious potato soup for his family - a tradition passed down from his parents and grandparents. Someday I hope he teaches me how to make it too.

Bachelor's Dinner is a special dinner in our house. It comes from my Irish great-granddad, Daniel Shyne, whom I was named after. It's a dinner like nothing else. Bachelor's Dinner is made with mash potatoes. You crack an egg over the middle, allowing the heat of the mashed potatoes to cook the egg. I most probably like it because I like starch. I also enjoy how the different textures taste in my mouth. My dad, the chief cook in our house, makes it for me because Daniel Shyne taught him how to cook it.

My great-granddady came to this country during World War I to escape poverty in Ireland. He joined the American army to fight in WWI and to gain citizenship in America. When he became an American, he still had the Irish feeling for potatoes. He thought that potatoes were the only allowable starch. He also thought that the only way to cook a potato was to boil it. When my dad was 14, he once fried an egg for Daniel Shyne; this made my great-granddaddy so mad that he threw the pan and the potatoes in the garbage can. Then my great-granddad taught my dad how to cook the Bachelor's Dinner. Daniel Shyne only made the meal when my great-grandmother wasn't there (hence, the name).

The potato was and is the staple crop of the Irish. Between 1841 and 1851, a blight destroyed the Irish potato crop causing the 10-year Irish famine. During this time period, the Irish population dropped 2 and a half million due to starvation and emigration. Even a generation later,the importance of the potato crop and the famine was still felt by men like my great-grandfather. My opinion is that if you have any amount of Irish in you, then you will probably like potatoes and, especially, Bachelor's Dinner.

Mondongo soup is one of the things that my family eats. I think it tastes exquisite. It`s made of potato, tomato, and the lining of a cow's stomach. It might sound nasty but it`s really good. From what I know it’s been passed down for generations. It`s really important in my family. It`s just one food that our family gets together and eats. My grandmother used to make it, but now my aunt makes it. It`s really good, except my grandma makes really great food.

The first time I tasted it, I thought it was horrible. Later I tried it and loved it. No other soup taste better that Mondongo soup. It`s a part of my tradition. I eat my soup with bread ,water (just in case it`s too salty), and milk. My grandmother eats it with crackers and water. As a closing to this I would like to say that many people have different types of food that make their heritage special and this soup helps to make my heritage special.

Hi. My name is Christen and each year for a birthday in my family you get to pick out what you would like to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every time it's my birthday I either pick Chinese food or pizza, but sometimes I pick Italian food. My mom makes some of the food at home.

She's really good at making stirfry and my dad is really good at making pasta and sausage. Unfortunately, I was born on the 29 of December, so I have to have a ham omelet for breakfast, a turkey sandwich for lunch, and either Chinese, pizza, or Italian for dinner.

My birthday is really fun even though it's four days after Christmas. We have a small party that day with my family. Then, about two weeks later, we invite all of my friends for another party. So that's what happens each year for all birthdays in my family.

My name is Kia Rose and welcome to my excellent cooking show! Today, I'm going to tell you about my dad's "Twiced Baked Soul Spuds," how he makes them and how they represent our family. Soul Spuds are always on the table at Thanksgiving, Easter, and other big family gatherings. Everyone takes some of the left-overs home after the big feasts and eats them at their own homes. These potatoes have a special taste and a special attitude, just like our family. My dad always make a ton of these potatoes, because I have a big family.

To make Soul Spuds, my dad cooks about 33 baked potatoes and then scoops out the hot, soft inside. He puts this part into a huge bowl and puts the skins into a big pile. Then he adds to the bowl a bunch of roasted bell peppers, a bunch of cheese, a little spice, and then mixes it all up. Then he puts all these ingredients back into the skins to be baked later.

These spuds are just like when my family gets together, we don't just sit around and lollygag, we mix up a bunch of different people (family, friends, friends of friends etc.) and put some spice into it. Yum! When these potatoes are baked again, they have a hard, crisp shell and a hot soft, scrumptious center.

A perfect meal for a perfect family!

Hi, My name is Adrienne and I live in Arcata, a small town in northern California. My whole family, on both sides, are chocolate fanatics. My great grandma worked in a chocolate/candy stand when she was a teenager, my mom had special chocolate cake from a fancy bakery every year for her birthday when she was a kid, and my brother and I each have a certain, special cake for our birthdays every year. Just about everybody in my family has some chocolatey tradition or history in their background.

My grandma makes a wonderful chocolate cream pie, my aunt makes a great mousse cake and my dad makes delicious chocolate soufflés, in addition to a chocolate cake. This cake is the best cake I've ever had in my whole life.

The cake is usually three or four layers layers tall, the frosting is homemade whipped creme' and on top of the cake are cherries and dark chocolate shavings. One of the reasons the cake is so special to my family is because this cake is the cake that my dad makes every year for our birthdays.

Since my family loves chocolate so much we have a lot of stories concerning chocolate. One of these stories is that once my two aunts were talking, one said, "Tonight we're having fruit for dessert," and my other aunt replied, "But fruit is not dessert!" That is just one of the many stories that shows how much my family LOVES chocolate, and how much it, and my dads cake is so special to my family.

Every year, my family celebrates my birthday. My cousins from Eureka come to my house and we all have a piece of my birthday cake. A tradition that we have is that after everyone has a piece, I put my face in the left-over cake.

My mom told me that when my dad was a little kid, his mother made a chocolate cake with whip cream and bananas on the top on every birthday occasion. Some people have the same kind of cake every year and others have their cake based on the theme of their party. I've had a lot of different kinds of cake my past 11 years.

People celebrate birthdays all around the world. For example, in England, they have fortune telling cakes. Certain objects are put into the cakes. If you uncover a coin in your cake, that's a sign of riches. In Norway, on a kid's birthday, the birthday kid would stand up in front of the class and chose someone to dance with while the rest of the class sings happy birthday song.

Some say the cake began with the ancient Greeks. The Greeks used to take cakes, round to represent the full moon, to the temples of their goddess of the moon, Artemis. Others contend the tradition began in Germany, where Geburststagorten, a special kind of cake the Germans were known for, was used for birthday celebrations. Whether you have the same kind or a different cake every year, birthdays just wouldn't be the same without birthday cakes.

My mom makes great pumpkin pies for Halloween, Christmas, and even Thanksgiving. Just as a lot of people do, she feels the need to make the pumpkin pie special with some sort of mark, and she does!

A cinnamon smiley face is put on all of her pumpkin pies. Every one who has tasted my mom's pumpkin pies has loved them, and I love them too. My mom will sometimes let me put on the smiley face for her but the cinnamon shaker is a wee bit too quick to pour out a small amount of cinnamon so I usually pour too much on the nose or eyes. I do not know the recipe yet, but I am learning very fast.

What I do know is that first you have to cut the pumpkin in half and bake it. Then you have to scrape out the inside and put it in a blender.

After you blend it up you can start on the crust. My mom doesn't only put the smiley on her pumpkin pies however; she puts her own smiles into the recipe while it's cooking.

Mix Green Beans and soup, put in pan then put in oven at 350' until warm, then sprinkle Onion Rings on top and put under broiler until brown. We share our own smiles while we are eating it.

When my mom first got her recipe for the Green Bean Casserole, it was on her wedding day. After she was married to my dad, and they were husband and wife, Mrs. Kelly Louise R. and Mr. Arnold Fred R., my Grandma Pat, on my father's side, gave my mom the recipe for Green Bean Casserole. When my Grandma Pat gave my mom the recipe she told her that it was a secret family recipe and only our family new about it and that she herself had made it up.

Well, a couple weeks later, my mom was at the store buying groceries, and she heard a group of ladies talking about how nice it would be to have Green Bean Casserole at their book party tonight! That was when my mom started to get suspicious about the recipe being a "secret."

Then, my mom knew that my Grandma Pat was lying because when she was at the store a couple days later getting the ingredients to make Green Bean Casserole, she found, on the back of a bag of French Fried Onion Rings bag, my mom's recipe. (Well, not really my mom's recipe but the one my grandma gave her). So really if my mom wanted the Green Bean Casserole recipe, all she would have to do was look on the back of an Onion Rings bag!

The green bean casserole recipe that uses Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup, was created by Campbell's in 1955. It has been estimated that as many as 20 million portions are served each year.

Resource: http://www.foodreference.com/html/fgreenbeancass.html

Hi! One of my favorite family recipes is my mom's chocolate chip cookies. I've been eating them my whole life. My mom created the recipe when she worked at a local bakery, and to this day, they are called Joyce's Chocolate Chip Cookies. (She also created Joyce's Cheesecake, but that's a whole different story.)

She has memorized the recipe, so she can whip up the batter in about three minutes, and have the cookies finished in about 15 minutes. I occasionally help her, but it seems to go faster when she has the kitchen to herself. It's hard to turn down one of her cookies, especially when they're fresh out of the oven.

If any of my siblings or I have our birthday on a school day, we bring in a fresh batch of cookies with enough for everybody in the class (including the teacher). Every time, at least two people ask for seconds, and at least two people say, "That was the best cookie I ever tasted!" (and that's not even including me).

I just love how I can taste each ingredient that I know she put in. I can eat the cookies with so much trust, without having thoughts such as, "I wonder if the person who made these washed their hands first..." or, "I hope these aren't too salty or too buttery..." because my mom knows the recipe so well that she can't put too much of anything in them, and she never, ever cooks without washing her hands first! I could probably live on my mom's cookies and milk!

My name is Karissa Simpson.I am 1/4 Portuguese. I have not really tried any kind of Portuguese foods, except linguisa. I have tried it with my mom, she made it in scrambled eggs. She has also made it with pancakes and waffles. My grandparents like to fry it, which also tastes good. My stepmom made it for my dad and me. She cut it up in noodles with white sauce. My stepmom has also added it in my spaghetti sauce.

I love linguisa. It has a spicy, tangy taste, but also a sweet taste. Everytime we have linguisa, I always sneak a piece. Sometimes I get caught. Linguisa is a type of sausage. That is probably why I like it so much, because I love any kind of sausage. The side that my Portuguese comes from is my dad's side. My dad is only half Portuguese.

The first time I had languisa was with my mom. We ate it with French toast. It was great. We even had fun making it. I will never forget the time we made it. So now when anyone asks me what I want for dinner I say, "I want linguisa." My family and I have been making linguisa for a long time. I'm glad that I am Portuguese, because it is interesting. The thing I forgot to mention is that my heritage is from Portugal, which is right next to Spain.

Potatoes are neat because most people like them. The other neat thing about them is that you can buy different types and make different styles. Also, potatoes are inexpensive, easy and fun to grow. They grow in most climates. When my dad was in college he had a friend whose mom made the best mashed potatoes. My dad liked them so much, he learned how to make them.

This is the one of the ways my mom and I make mashed potatoes. Every Christmas and Thanksgiving we have these mashed potatoes for dinner. These mashed potatoes go with almost anything on the dinner table. Sometimes I am the first person at dinner to get them. Because of that, I get the melted cheese that is on top.

One of the things that make these mashed potatoes so good is that you add garlic and cottage cheese with cheddar cheese on top. I have never met a person that did not like these potatoes.

When my mom is making these potatoes, it is hard for me to wait for dinner, but I get to lick the beaters. When I finally get to dinner I want to pass this recipe to friends and family. I want the whole world to taste these potatoes.