Walking around Disney World this past March, Kayla lamented, “I don’t even know who any of these characters are, Mom.”  We were visiting all four parks in four days as a special way to end our three month sabbatical in Texas.  A trip to Disney World had never been on my top ten list of things to be sure and do with my kids {we live in beautiful, historical New England for goodness’ sake!}, but now it seemed like a nice way to make the journey back to Massachusetts a treat for them.  Not only had they never been to Disney World or seen any of the Disney movies {aside from Mary Poppins and The Absent Minded Professor}, they had never even been to an amusement park of any sort. {They have been to New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Maine’s rocky coast, Prince Edward Island, The Bay of Fundy, The St. Louis Gateway Arch, Fort Sumter, Gettsyburg, Fort Ticonderoga, Niagra Falls, and the Erie Canal, though. Poor kids.}

So….
1. No Disney Movies
2. No Disney World
3. No Six Flags, Astroworld, Busch Garden…

I’m not against Disney movies; I just didn’t want them watching TV or movies at all when they were little. It’s a decision I really don’t regret.  {Though they still tease me for not allowing Arthur or Dragon Tales into their occasional PBS viewing.} They learned to play and read and create and imagine and not need a flickering screen to entertain them. But it seems that as they got older, I failed to introduce them to some very prominent cultural icons ~ like Mickey and Minnie, Cinderella, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid.  I’m still not convinced it did them any harm.  They seemed to enjoy Disney World quite thoroughly without the back stories on all of the characters, though I offered her a few quick summaries.  Kayla did enjoy playing the role of a very deprived daughter, however.

This week I discovered another cultural phenomenon about which I had failed to enlighten my charges concerning:

The BLT

I know.  This proves it. No Lion King, no roller coasters, and no BLT’s. I must be a horrible mother. How did this classic never make its way into our weekly menus?  I think it might be because of my love/hate relationship with pork, but this week the uncured bacon at Trader Joe’s was calling out to me, and I knew I had to buy two packages and wow my family with an open faced version of this iconic sandwich with the additions of avocado and cheese.  I could hardly wait!

Here are the steps I used to make BLT/AC’s or…

• 1. Arrange bacon on 2 cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes, depending on desired level of crispiness.
• 2. While bacon cooks, slice 1-2 tomatoes, 1-2 avocados, wash and dry 1 head of lettuce and tear into sandwich sized pieces.
• 3. Slightly toast 10 slices of GF bread.  Spread cooled slices with mayonnaise.
• 4. Grate Toscano {or any} cheese {Trader Joe’s Toscano is coated with black pepper = delicious!}
• 5. Drain bacon on paper towels.
• 6. Layer lettuce, bacon, tomato, avocado, and cheese on bread slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• 7. Broil on high for one minute or less ~ just to slightly melt the cheese.

salt and pepper to taste