Raise your hand if meal time is a pain in your butt? I know you can’t see me, but my hand is raised.
You may be surprised to find out that making dinner every night is one of my least favorite tasks. I shared this with Armando the other night and even he was stunned by this news. It’s not that I don’t like cooking—I very much do—it’s just cooking for children that I don’t enjoy.
Rarely do I see a recipe in a cookbook that I think they will eat willingly. It is my firm belief that most cookbooks are made specifically for adults—as they should be I guess, since they are the ones who buy them—but it makes it hard when you are tasked with filling the bellies of small children on a daily basis to come up with something everyone can get excited about.
But, but, but there’s a new cookbook that I’ve been cooking from all summer and I’m not kidding friends, every recipe I’ve made from here my kids have devoured. The book is called A Chef Walks Into a Cafeteria… by Emily Burson, RD, Chef Brandon Neumen, and the entire team behind School Nutrition Plus. It is the most popular recipes that these school lunch pros serve to over 20,000 kids daily so they are definitely kid-friendly but they are also interesting enough that both Armando and I can get happy about eating them too.
Let’s take a peek inside.
Recipes for breakfast like this Quinoa Granola.
Everyone in our house devoured this Bolognese recipe.
And I haven’t tried this Pineapple Slaw but it looks REALLY good!
One of the kid’s favorite recipes has been the Chicken Street Taco. They have an addictive spice rub with just the right balance of cayenne to brown sugar that gives them a little kick but not too spicy that the kids won’t eat it.
Emily and her crew have been kind enough to share a copy with me that I can give to YOU! So head on over to Instagram to enter to win it.

Chicken Street Tacos From The Cookbook Every Family Needs
Recipe shared with permission from A Chef Walks Into a Cafeteria by Emily Burton, RD, Chef Brandon Neumen and School Nutrition Plus
Ingredients
Southwestern Dry Rub:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons granulated garlic
- 1 tablespoon ground mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Tacos:
- 1/4 cup Southwestern Rub
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 24 (4.5-inch) corn tortillas
- 6 tablespoons chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Favorite salsa
- 6 lime wedges
Instructions
For Southwestern Dry Rub:
- Mix all dried spices together in a bowl. Use 1/4 cup to make the tacos, and store remaining rub in an airtight container.
For Tacos:
- Combine 1/4 cup rub, oil, and lime juice in a bowl. Toss chicken in marinade. Rub all over chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; cook chicken 2 minutes on each side.
- Place chicken on sheet pan and bake in oven 12 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F (mine took 20 minutes).
- Pull from oven. Tent with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Dice chicken and heat tortillas according to package directions. Divide tortillas into 12 stacks of 2 tortillas each. Divide chicken evenly among tortilla stacks. Top with onions, cilantro, and salsa. Serve with lime wedges.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 443Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 129mgSodium: 467mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 4gSugar: 10gProtein: 50g
OTHER RAMOS FAMILY FAVORITES:
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Really appreciate that Paul. Thank you!