Vegan Mexican Night

Hola!!!
Ok so I have a few more recipes I am wanting to share with you but I being the procrastinator that I am waited until the last night to pack for a trip I will be taking tomorrow so I will just be posting the others later. I was going to make yummy chick pea tacos but low and behold I went to the grocery store and no organic corn tortilla shells. I was far too busy and a bit lazy haha to make my own tortillas today so what did I do? Next best thing quickly made a batch of beans which my hubby wanted and I actually had made mexican brown rice yesterday so voila a meal was formed YAY!

SO heres the menu of my day today, hope you enjoy!

Chickpea Tacos Recipe

Rinsed and peeled





From - happyherbivore.com
Servings: 8

Description:

Crunchy, crunchy heaven. These tacos rock the chickpea! One bite and you'll be hooked!
Ingredients:

15 ounces chickpeas, drained and rinsed - I decided to peel them my personal preference
1 tbsp tamari
2 tsp lemon juice
1 recipe taco seasoning
8 whole taco shells
Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400F. Whisk tamari, juice & spices together. Add rinsed chickpeas and toss until well and evenly coated. Place chickpeas on tray, spray with oil and bake 20-25 minutes, until crunchy. Assemble tacos with chickpeas, arugula or lettuce, tomatoes and eat.

If you don't already have a taco seasoning blend on hand, try this recipe omitting red pepper flakes.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

From Allrecipes,com

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

Mexican Brown Rice

From - forkfingerschopsticks.com

Serves 4

Key:

- Make sure to use long grain brown rice
- Use a heavy-bottomed pot that is wider, than deep. (I used a 9 inch wide x 4 inch deep pot.)
- Make sure it also has a tight fitting lid.
- After the tomato and stock/water have been added and it comes to a boil – do not stir. Avoid lifting lid while it simmers.
- Use a fork to fluff rice; do NOT use a spoon (it can turn it to mush).

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons oil (canola, vegetable or sunflower)

1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice

1/4 onion, diced small

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 – 2 serrano chiles, left whole or cut in half lengthwise and de-seeded ( I omitted this but its your personal choice =) )

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 carrots, diced medium

1 zucchini, diced large or 1 cup frozen corn, thawed (optional)

3 cups hot vegetable stock or water*

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce**

1 – 2 teaspoons salt

*If using water, you may also add chicken bouillon – but adjust salt accordingly

Method:

Soak brown rice in a bowl with hot water for 15 minutes. Drain well in a colander or sieve, removing as much water as possible. Set aside in colander.
Prepare ingredients in advance – measure and chop onions and carrots.
On medium-high heat, heat a medium-size pot (with a tight fitting lid), then add the oil. When oil is hot, add the drained rice; sauté and turn frequently so that the rice cooks evenly. When the rice is barely a golden color (after about 10 minutes of sautéing) add the onions; sauté for about 2 minutes. Then add the garlic, chiles, cumin, carrots and corn to the pot; sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring almost constantly to avoid burning garlic.
Carefully and slowly add the hot stock/water to the rice because it may spatter. Immediately stir in the tomato sauce. Add the salt, starting with 1 teaspoon; taste the broth (it should be a tad salty – but it will adjust as it is absorbed).
Bring rice with liquid to a boil. Allow to boil for 5 minutes. Add diced zucchini if using. Cover with a tight lid and reduce heat to a low simmer for 40 minutes. Avoid lifting the lid repeatedly. After 40 minutes, turn off heat and let rice sit covered for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve hot.
Variations:

**Tomato: substitute tomato sauce with about 1/2 pound fresh tomatoes – skinned and pureed.

Vegetables: carrots, peas, corn, zucchini, green or red bell peppers.


So there it is all the yummy food sitting on my table. Yes, I make a mini salad bar my hubby is so picky and well I got the bright idea of making our salads a "build-your-own" that way everyone is happy.

Overall everything was great! I seriously cant wait to actually have my chickpeas in tacos and I am thinking that will be my mission next week! I will let yall know! The rice was delicious too. I made a little bit of guacamole too.




Heres my plate I pigged out haha this was m biggest meal of the day and we eat dinner at 5 plenty of time to burn it off right? Well I actually am trying to get into food combining. Can you tell I am not doing well at it. Have a wonderful Fourth of July!



See you soon,

Jeni