Fix Tyll’S Burritos For Quick, Easy Meal

Celebrating Mother’s Day often means giving mom a break from cooking. But that’s not an unusual event in the Rodgers household, where sharing cooking responsibilities is common practice.

Dee Rodgers usually cooks the Sunday dinner for her family of five and her mother, Dee Johnson. That’s where the similarities with most families end.

Tyll, the youngest in the family at age 8, makes burritos every Monday night. He also cooks frozen corn in the microwave and mixes a container of packaged coleslaw with dressing to go with the meal.

Claire, 11, has Tuesday night cooking responsibilities. The fifth-grader at Hamblen Elementary heats up leftovers from Sunday night. She also makes a salad and warms a loaf of French bread or rolls to accompany leftovers.

“It’s easy and it’s fast and I hate making dinner,” says Claire. “The worst thing about making dinner is you have to do the dishes and wipe the counters.”

Julian, 14, has expanded his Wednesday night specialty from spaghetti - which his sister says he tests for doneness by throwing a strand against a window or cabinet door to see if it sticks - to making a stir-fry dinner.

“We’re striving for independence,” says Dee, who increased her hours to full-time work last fall at the Cooperative Academic Library of Washington State University and Eastern Washington University, where she is a library technician. “It’s working real well.”

The rest of the week’s menus include pizza for Thursday night, quick, casual meals for Friday and mom’s cooking on the weekend.

Breakfast duties belong to dad John Rodgers, a Spokane attorney. For the past three years he’s made weekday morning meals for the family. Monday is oatmeal, Tuesday is pancakes, Wednesday is cheese omelets, Thursday is Cream of Wheat cereal and Friday is cold cereal.

“John has always been a big breakfast proponent,” says Dee, adding that he likes serving fresh fruit and often introduces unusual tropical fruits.

And for Mother’s Day?

“We’ll probably make her a special dinner,” says Claire, not wanting to give away a surprise.

Here’s to all kinds of lovely surprises to moms everywhere this Sunday.

Tyll’s Burritos

1 (15-ounce) can refried beans

6 flour tortillas

1-1/4 cups grated cheese (low-fat or fat-free)

Spread beans on tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll or fold up. Place on napkin on microwave-safe plate and microwave on HIGH about 7 minutes, until heated through. Serve with coleslaw and cooked corn.

Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving, using nonfat cheddar cheese and refried beans: 202 calories, 2 grams fat (9 percent fat calories), 28 grams carbohydrate, 17 grams protein, 3 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams dietary fiber, 726 milligrams sodium.