For as long as I can remember I've always been fond of tradition. I love family game nights on holidays, gift exchanges on Christmas with the same cousin every year, family reunions, you get the picture. But my all time favorite tradition isn't one that's done at the same time every year or holiday specific. You can do it by yourself or with 30 of your relatives. But one thing is for sure, there's not a single person in my family that is going to say "no" if you offer it.

Tacos, known to my family and very lucky closest friends as Cottingham tacos.

Yes, I am aware that "taco night" is a theme used by many families, but Cottingham tacos aren't your usual tacos. They're simple, little corn tortillas fried with hamburger on half the patty, UGH it makes my mouth water just typing about it.

(They seriously will change your life, just ask my closest friends who've fallen in love with them over the years of eating dinner at my house.)

It's not just how crazy, greasy-delicious these tacos are, it's how they have the power to make any family gathering 100x better.

The power to put a smile on everyones face.

The power to bring out the nostalgia in everyone, opening the conversation up to old stories and memories.

The power to take me back to being a little girl watching my grandma and great aunts work in perfect sync like it's muscle memory, making like a million of those things for a family dinner.

The power to make your heart and your stomach equally happy, unless you eat 10+ which is very possible and will still leave your heart happy, but your stomach miserable.

The power to embed a completed grocery list of everything needed to make them in my brain by the time I was 12.

As sappy as it sounds these tacos are apart of my life. They're the food I miss the most when I'm away at school, they're one of the many thing's I look forward to when I go home to Illinois to see family, and they remind me of my childhood and how awesome my family is.

Some of us eat them plain, some with ketchup, some with just cheese, and some so loaded up with sour cream/lettuce/salsa/tomatos/guac etc. they're almost impossible to eat. I think that's a testament to not just my family, but everyone's. We're all like our tacos, each a little different. But we come from such a kick-ass foundation (corn tortilla and hamburger) that no matter how different we choose to be, we're all still a little bit the same (and freaking delicious). That's what a family is, just a big pan of tacos all cooked the same but decorated a little different.