Today, dinner was a huge success! I was really skeptical that I could pull this one off. My kids know that every dish I put in front of them these days is somehow a vegetable….either in disguise or straight up. One cares, the other doesn’t. My picky one takes a microscope out, it seems! And she is the one who first said the meat was great! Yes, she thought it was taco MEAT! And the best part, this was an inexpensive, easy meal that I made in under 30 minutes.
I took 2 recipes and put them together for these fabulous tacos. Thank you Gretchen and Kate! You are both fabulous cooks and I love using your great ideas! You can even make these for carnivores! They are full of good protein between the quinoa and black beans and there is nothing from a packet in sight. SO good!�
Black Bean and Quinoa Tacos
½ cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced through press
2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup of quinoa, cooked
1 T chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
8 oz can tomato sauce
Taco shells or Romaine lettuce to make wraps
Taco garnishes of your choice
Bring quinoa and water to a boil in 2 cups of water. Simmer for 10 – 15 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed. Meanwhile….
Sautee onion and garlic in a pan. You can add a little water for moisture of use a little oil. I did mine dry and they were fine. Cook over medium heat. Once the onions are translucent, add in the drained and rinsed beans. Add all of the spices and the tomato sauce. Stir and cook while the quinoa cooks. Lower the heat when the mixtures has lost most of it’s moisture. (I used a non stick pan. I usually steer clear of non stick b/c…I just do…, but thought it would be helpful tonight while avoiding oil)
Once your quinoa is cooked, add a cup or two to your beans. Continue cooking until the entire pan is heated through.
Stir and taste for seasoning…. taco meat!!! (as always, this is where your skills come in! don’t serve until the seasonings taste right!)
Here is my harder to please eater eating her LAST bite of the taco!
And here is the eats-almost-anything one. After he finished his taco, he asked for a bowl of just meat. For realz. (he likes being cozy… can you tell by the fact that he is ALWAYS in his undershirt. I promise we make him wear clothes in public!)
Now, we all know I can’t have corn and must have cruciferous veggies at every meal. So here is my version. I made a slaw with no oil or sugar and it was a perfect accompaniment. If you have not been here: http://www.nutritiouseats.com/ you should. I got my slaw recipe that I adapted, along with many other recipes. My favorite blog out there for recipes!
Someday I will have a fancy camera! Until then, enjoy the dark pictures 🙂
Try a vegan meal today! You will be amazed at how good food can taste!
And like I say…if I am attempting to reverse a disease this this diet, could you be preventing one??? Food for thought!
(note, the family had cheese on theirs….just mine was totally vegan)
Pressing on... 
This looks super yummy – I wonder if I could slip the “meatlessness” past my dear hubby. I also wonder if I have a full cup of quinoa in the pantry still because i know I have everything else. Yumm – may have to try and sneak this in the menu sometime soon!!
I did with my kids! I loaded up the tacos with the “meat”, lettuce, and some cheese. But put whatever he thinks of as normal on there. With the crunchy shell, it is hard to notice until it is pointed out. Good luck! And you don’t need to be exact with amount of quinoa or beans. I have varied it a lot based on what I had on hand.