Scrumptious Vegan Tacos

Picture and recipe by: Callen Rhoads

I came home today and was seriously tired after school and working out.  I did one of the “insanity” workouts with some girls from work and it seriously kicked my butt! When I got home I was super hungry and so was Jake. I didn’t feel like making anything that I had planned on making AND I wanted something with a lot of protein… I looked into my pantry and found Taco shells and decided that tacos it was!  I literally just threw this recipe together as I was making dinner and used what I had in my pantry and fridge. The recipe turned out AMAZING! Before completing dinner, Jake wasn’t too thrilled with me using tofu “hamburger” crumbles, but he was actually VERY pleased with how good everything was. He ended up eating four tacos….and some of the left over filling by itself. J

For this recipe I decided I would try tacos with rice in them and it was actually really filling and scrumptious!

**For this recipe you can make whatever rice you’d like. I suggest staying away from the parboiled stuff. To me, it takes icky and I don’t know if it would taste very good in this recipe. I used white Jasmine rice, but you could use a wild rice if you wanted something more nutty.

***On another note, for those of you with kids...you could easily lower (or omit) the cayenne and red pepper flakes and even take out the black beans. The kids won't even notice the difference in the "hamburger" crumbles. It's that good! (I fooled Jake with it the first time I made it!!...ha ha!)

(This recipe makes 4-6 nice sized servings…depending on how much you eat!)

Ingredients:

1 cup of white jasmine rice

2  cups of vegetable broth for rice (or you can use water)

¼ cup vegetable broth for taco filling

Taco shells of your choice

1TBS of olive oil or coconut oil

1 cubanella  OR green bell pepper (diced)

1 large sweet onion, diced and divided in half

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can of vegetarian refried beans (I used Taco bell, and it’s actually vegan!)

8oz of diced tomatoes (I had to use canned because we were out of fresh tomatoes at the house! Ah!!!)

½ package of Marjon Vegetarian (actually vegan) tofu hamburger crumbles

SPICES

(Could use vegan taco seasoning if you didn’t want to make your own seasoning):

½-1 TBS of cayenne pepper
1/2- 1 TBS of Cumin
2         TBS of minced garlic
1/2 TBS of garlic powder
1-2 TBS of chili powder

1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

Optional

Spinach or other lettuce

Diced tomato (or some left over from the can you opened)

Taco bell hot sauce (Jake used this, I however didn’t think it needed it.)

Directions:

First, make the rice according to the package directions. I used 1 cup of the white jasmine rice and 2 cups of vegetable broth instead of water to give it some flavor. I cooked mine in the microwave to save on time, but if you aren’t in a rush you could make it on the stove.

Next, add the olive oil to a large pan.  Sauté  half the onions and  all the bell pepper on medium high heat. Once the onions and peppers are softened and lightly browned on the edges add the hamburger crumbles. Cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add all the spices. Taste as you go along so you don’t add too much or too little for your taste.  Then add the can of black beans.  Now, slowly add a couple spoonfuls of refried beans at a time until the entire can has been emptied into the pan. Add vegetable broth (or water) as needed to help the refried beans mix with the other ingredients. Finally, add the tomatoes to your mixture.  (Add salt and pepper as needed)

Fill  your tacos with rice first, then your taco filling, fresh lettuce or spinach (if using), and finally with the fresh diced onions and some left over tomato.

Voila! Enjoy!

xoxo,

Callen

Easy Asian Slaw

Picture and recipe by: Callen Rhoads

I first found a similar asian slaw at Sam's club. It was all prepackaged and you just had to mix it all together.  After trying the prepacked slaw at Sam's, I decided to try and make my own. It seemed easy enough and it was so delicious! (I was seriously eating it every day for about two weeks! Ha!) That was about 6 months ago. Today I was at publix and started to crave it! Well, here is my version of easy asian slaw. I literally ate almost half of it for dinner tonight. Oops. ha ha.

BTW...this is a great healthy salad dish to bring to parties. Just thought I'd throw that in there! :)

Easy Asian Slaw

1 16oz package of shredded cabbage/coleslaw mix

1/4-1/2 cup Drew's Sesame Orange Dressing

(I found it by the natural dressings in Publix. However, Walmart has a store brand called, "Sesame Ginger Dressing" that is by the produce that is also Vegan).

1 Tbs Agave Syrup

(I used Raw Agave Syrup, but any kind will work. Omit this if using the walmart brand Sesame Ginger Dressing. It is sweet enough without the syrup)

1/2-1 cup La Choy Chow Mein Noodles

1/4 cup oven roasted sliced almonds

(I used the brand, "Almond Accents." They are by the produce too!)

Mix Together and Serve Immediately. It's that EASY!!!

If you want to prepare this overnight, make sure to omit the Chow Mein Noodles and Almonds and add those just before serving. :)

**If you noticed I didn't put exact measurements on most of the ingredients. That's because I just eye everything and taste as I go along so it's to my liking. I would suggest using the smaller amount first, then taste and add more if needed.