Taco Night!

My favorite night of the week and always has been! Tacos are my all-time favorite food. This is the first thing I had to adapt when we stopped eating so much meat.  I have an issue with eating things like Smart Ground, or any of the processed "fake" meats. Not for nutritional reasons but because it looks really gross. Tofu is too soft and tempeh is disgusting. (My vegan captor loves it but I refuse to eat it). The taco filling I use is actually a very obvious choice...beans!! Yummy delicious beans. You can make beans do anything you want. In this recipe, I use always use two kinds. So far my favorite combos are red kidney/black bean and red kidney/pinto. No, I don't miss the cheese on my tacos because I make sure I include avocado in the topping list. Also, I use the Tofutti sour cream and it's actually pretty good. My kids love these tacos and I don't add oil or fat at any point which I like. These tacos are as true to my taco night growing up but with just a few tweaks.

I've got the best trick. If you ever bring home your hard shell taco pack and some shells are broken, call the company! I saved the box for the info and called Old El Paso to complain. They sent me a bunch of coupons that I'm still using. Now if I could only find them after the move...

Oh and if you are worried about having gas from eating all the beans, take a spoonful of apple cider vinegar.



(I ripped off this photo from Cooking Light. I feel so cheap!)

Serves 2 adults and 2 kids

2 cans of beans (mix and match if you want) My favorite combos are above
1/2 package of taco seasoning
1 teaspoon of cumin
juice of a lime'
Clove of garlic minced
1/2 cup of water
Package of hard shell taco shells

Topping Ideas
Savoy Cabbage (healthier and more durable than lettuce when it hits the warm beans)
Tomatoes
Onion
Avocado
Salsa
Sour Cream (Give Toffuti a try)
Grated Carrot

Add rinsed beans, garlic and water to saucepan and simmer for about 15 minutes covered. Add about half the package of taco seasoning, cumin and lime. Mash about half the beans with a fork so it looks like chunky refried beans.Check seasoning.

Heat taco shells and fill them so they are overflowing with all the great toppings!

When my kids eat these, I fill their shells while the beans are still hot and set them aside to cool. This softens the shells and makes them easier for the kids to chew.
Love to eat with Zatarains Spanish Rice. Not sure if it's vegan but it has a lot less sodium then some other brands.