Vegetarian Taco Salad

(Picture from Eating Well.)

This recipe was sent in by Vanessa H. She found it at Eating Well. 

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (see Tip) or frozen, thawed
• 4 large tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups cooked long-grain brown rice (see Tip)
• 1 15-ounce can black, kidney or pinto beans, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup prepared salsa
• 2 cups shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce
• 1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
• 2 1/2 cups coarsely crumbled tortilla chips
• Lime wedges for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and corn; cook, stirring, until the onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Coarsely chop 1 tomato. Add it to the pan along with rice, beans, chili powder, 1 teaspoon oregano and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the tomato cooks down, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.
2. Coarsely chop the remaining 3 tomatoes. Combine with cilantro, salsa and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon oregano in a medium bowl.
3. Toss lettuce in a large bowl with the bean mixture, half the fresh salsa and 2/3 cup cheese. Serve sprinkled with tortilla chips and the remaining cheese, passing lime wedges and the remaining fresh salsa at the table.

Notes about this recipe:

Don't stir the lettuce directly into the salad, spoon some of the salad onto a bed of lettuce on each plate. Don't want soggy lettuce in your leftovers!

Super Veggie Lentil Taco "Meat"

(Photo from The Ordinary Vegetarian)

This recipe was sent to me by Aubrey B. She said it has fabulous flavor and texture. She found it at The Ordinary Vegetarian.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 large bell pepper, chopped (any color)
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (any kind) (I left this out, since I didn't have any on hand, it worked just fine.)
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 2 ribs of celery, sliced
• 1-1/2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• dash cayenne
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• Salt to taste

Directions:

Heat 1/4 cup water in a large skillet. Saute onion for 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, bell pepper, and mushrooms and cook for another 3 minutes. If the pan starts to dry up and the contents start sticking, add a tablespoon or two more of water. Add in the lentils, carrots, celery, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, bay leaf, and cayenne, and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the broth and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium low and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the mixture starts drying out, add 1/4 cup water or broth. (I ended up putting in about 1/2 a cup extra water)

Remove from heat and carefully drain off any extra liquid (a little bit of liquid is fine, excessive liquid is not desirable). Remove bay leaf and stir in tomato paste and lime juice. Transfer to food processor or blender and pulse a few times, until a crumbly texture is achieved--do not puree. Serve hot.

Makes six 1/2 cup servings (about 3 cups), which could be used to make 12 tacos, 6 burritos, 6 taco salads, or 6 nacho platters.

Quinoa Taco Salad

I made this a few weeks back and it was a hit. Replace ground beef with yummy-taco seasoned quinoa and you've got yourself one delish meal.

Ingredients:

-1 cup quinoa, uncooked
-2 1/2-3 1/2 Tb of a packet of taco seasoning (FYI, most packets have about 4 Tb in them)
-2 cups of water
-romaine lettuce, washed and cut for the salad
-2-3 tomatoes, diced
-1 can of black olives, sliced if you want to
-1-2 avocados, sliced
-salsa
-tortilla chips
-other optional toppings include cilantro, sour cream, cheese, hot sauce, etc.

Directions:

1. Put the quinoa, taco seasoning, and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low, cover, and let cook for about 15 minutes (or until it's looking cooked and fluffy). Remove from heat when done.
2. Meanwhile, cut up all the fresh vegetables for the salad.
3. THAT'S IT! Let everyone dish up how they like (some prefer to do lettuce first, then other toppings....others don't like to mix it all together).

Variations on the recipe:
-Try adding black beans or kidney beans to the quinoa after you've cooked it (or serve on the side).
-Try adding 1 cup of frozen corn to the quinoa right as it's finished cooking, mix well, and put the lid on to help warm the corn.
-Cook 1-2 tsp of minced garlic with the quinoa.

Quinoa Taco Salad

This recipe comes from Good Life Eats.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• half a red bell pepper, chopped
• half a green bell pepper, chopped
• half a yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1-2 teaspoons chili powder, depending heat preferences
• dash cayenne pepper
• 1 -15 ounce can black beans, drained
• 3/4 cup diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• 2 limes
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 6-8 ounces baby spinach
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1/3 cup cheddar or feta cheese
• 1 avocado, diced

Directions:

Cook the quinoa according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, swirl a bit of olive oil in a saute pan. Heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and saute for 3-5 minutes, until translucent and tender. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, chili powder, cayenne and peppers and saute an additional 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in the black beans, tomatoes, and the juice of 1 lime. Stir in quinoa. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill.

Roughly cut baby spinach into strips like you would shred iceberg lettuce for tacos. Remove about 1 cup of cilantro leaves from the bunch, rinse and pat dry, and toss with the spinach. Divide spinach and cilantro mixture evenly among 4 salad plates. Top each plate with a scoop of the quinoa salad. Top each salad with your choice of cheese and diced avocado. Cut the remaining lime into slices to garnish the plates.

Notes about this recipe:

1. My refrigerator is crazy and is freezing half of my poor vegetables, so my spinach and my cilantro were gross. Instead of eating it on the spinach I ate mine in a tortilla and my husband ate his with tortilla chips. Both ways tasted great.