Well clearly, I didn’t take this picture.

I made these for dinner last night, and though they were yummy, they weren’t very pretty (plus, I used regular taco-sized tortillas because I couldn’t find big ones). So, I borrowed this pic from Real Simple. They will likely not appreciate it, but it’s also likely they’ll never know. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Anyway, these were ready in a jif and there is enough protein in one serving to last you a good two days. Great after a tough workout on a weeknight.

Vegan Chicken & Quinoa Burritos
Recipe inspired by Real Simple

Ingredients

4 burrito-size whole-wheat tortillas, warmed
1 lb Match® vegan chicken
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup black beans, warmed
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup shredded Follow Your Heart Monterey Jack
1 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
1 avocado, sliced
1 cup pico de gallo/salsa

Directions

• In a large non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat
• Add block of Match chicken; cook until well browned, about 4 min. per side
• Transfer to a cutting board and cut into quarters, then slice each fourth into strips
• Dividing equally, top the warmed tortillas with the chicken, beans, quinoa, cheese, cilantro and avocado and salsa, roll into burritos and serve

Yield: Serves 4

Technically, this is not a taco recipe. So, there.

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: tacos are awesomesauce. SO versatile, you can’t help but love ‘em.

I know I say this every time, but this one actually is different! First of all, fajita veggies do make a difference. Seitan is another new and excellent addition to the tortilla as well – and I’ve got to say, seitan is quickly becoming my fave of the vegan protein holy trinity that includes tofu and tempeh. The texture is definitely the “meatiest” of the three and it’s really a knockout substitute for sliced/ground beef or sausage. It takes flavor really, really well.

I just served these with guac and chips but next time I think I’ll cook up a side of black or vegetarian refried beans and melt a ‘lil cheddar Daiya on top instead (or in addition). Some Mexican rice would be super yum too.

Vegan Seitan Fajitas
Recipe courtesy of YumSugar

Ingredients

2 packages traditional seitan, broken up or sliced into pieces
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 large red onion
1 large red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
3 cloves minced garlic
1 packet fajita mix + 1/2 -3/4 cup of water
Daiya shredded cheddar cheese
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Prepared salsa
1 avocado, sliced
Whole wheat tortillas
Vegan sour cream (optional)

Directions

• Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until tender, 3-5 min.
• Stack tortillas, cover in foil and heat in toaster oven until warm
• Add seitan and saute for 10-12 min.
• Combine fajita mix with water and add to pan. Coat veggies and seitan and cook for 2 min. on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover for about 3 min.
• Layer tortillas with sour cream (if using), seitan mixture, cheese, salsa, avocado and cilantro
• Roll up and serve

Yield: Serves 4

Whaddya know? Another taco recipe! These guys are pretty significantly different than most of the other tacos I’ve posted though and that’s thanks to the presence of the chickpeas, which serve as the base.

There’s one other thing that makes these a lil’ bit special: Garlic Gold. When I saw this in the ingredients list, it very nearly discouraged me from trying these because I didn’t even know what it was. When I figured it out and then realized that the only way to get it is to order it online, that about sealed the deal. Somehow though, my curiosity got the better of me and I went ahead and ordered some (the fact that the website mentioned how great/easy this stuff is for making garlic bread may or may not have also had something to do with my decision). It turned out to be a good call and I hope you’ll take a chance on it too!

Vegan Chickpea Tacos
Recipe courtesy of Spabettie

Ingredients

15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and peeled
3 tbs prepared hummus
1/2 tbs lime juice
2 tbs Garlic Gold
Chili powder, sprinkled
Prepared guacamole
Lettuce
Cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in halves
Taco shells

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375°F
  
• Whisk together hummus, lime juice and garlic in a medium bowl until well combined
• Carefully stir in chickpeas until evenly coated
• Spread mixture on baking sheet, sprinkle liberally with chili powder and bake for 20 min
• Place all other ingredients on table and layer into taco shells, chickpeas first

Yield: Serves 2-4

I think this makes the third or fourth time I’ve featured a recipe for tacos on this blog. Who can blame me though, right? Tacos are just so easy (not to mention versatile, fast and scrumptious)! They’re hard to resist on a weekday night.

This particular recipe comes from my fave cookbook, Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook and what I love, love, love about it is that, unlike our usual route, it doesn’t feature any kind of faux meat. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not a faux hater – quite the opposite – but I do like to serve it in moderation, so it’s nice to see a recipe that calls for something different and homemade as a base. What that means though is that these aren’t as quick and easy to put together as some of the other taco recipes I’ve featured. They’re still comparatively simple for a dinner though, so don’t let that discourage you!

Lentil Tacos
Recipe courtesy of Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook

Ingredients

4 cups water
1 cup dried green lentils
2 tbs diced white onion
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbs tomato paste
1/2 cup diced cherry tomatoes
2 tbs diced red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp diced jalapeno pepper
3 tsp lime juice
1 tbs finely chopped fresh cilantro
4-6 corn tortillas, fresh
1 sliced avocado
1/2 cup shredded lettuce

*Super important note: When I make these again, I will definitely add a packet of taco seasoning to the lentil mixture. It was good, but it could have really used a smidge more flavor/spice. I think it would make a big difference.

Directions

• In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the lentils and white onion. Return to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer until soft, 30 to 40 min.
• Drain any remaining water and place half the lentils in a food processor or blender. Process while drizzling 1 tbs of the oil into the mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomato paste and puree until combined. Put the lentil mixture in a medium bowl and stir in remaining lentils
• In a separate medium bowl, mix together the cherry tomatoes, red onion, garlic, jalapeno, lime juice, cilantro and remaining oil for salsa. Add salt and pepper to taste
• Heat a small frying pan over low heat and quickly warm the tortillas on each side
• Spread the lentil mixture on each tortilla and top with sliced avocado, salsa and lettuce

Yield: Serves 2-3

It’s been a while since I’ve featured a “Busy Vegan” post – and considering how busy I’ve been that seems odd!

This is the recipe I picked up from Kathy Freston’s appearance on the Ellen show a while back when she and Tal Ronnen whipped these up for a newly veg (maybe?) family. I made a few changes from her original recipe and the next time I make these I think I’ll make a few more, but they were good nonetheless.

Now I gotta run. I’m busy!

Gardein Beef(less) Tacos
Recipe courtesy of kathyfreston.com

Ingredients

1 bag of Gardein beefless tips
6 small whole-wheat tortillas
1 cup cooked corn
1 head shredded romaine lettuce
Prepared Guacamole

Marinade Ingredients

1/3 cup prepared green salsa*
1 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp minced garlic
pinch sea salt
pinch black pepper

*I don’t care for green salsa, so I blended up some pico and used that instead. I don’t know how much that might have changed the flavor.

Directions

• Marinate thawed beefless tips for 20 min.
• Heat stainless steel saute pan (or whatever you have), add oil and sear beefless tips for 3 min on each side
• Meanwhile, warm tortillas
• Put tips in middle of tortilla with guacamole, romaine lettuce and corn (we also added some additional pico) and fold
• Garnish with green onions, chopped fresh cilantro and lime wedges

Yield: Serves 2-3

Here’s the first of the recipes featuring Match that I promised would follow yesterday’s post. These wraps are great for quick, weeknight dinners. Extra points if it’s hot outside.

Avocado “Chicken” Wraps
Recipe Inspired by Turbokick.com

Ingredients

1/2 lb Match Chicken
1 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 – 2 avocados, peeled, pitted and mashed
1/8 cup red onion, chopped
1/8 tsp. garlic salt
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Roma tomato, diced
5-6 whole wheat tortillas
1 can black beans
Fresh lime wedges (optional)
Hot sauce (optional)

Directions

• Wrap stacked tortillas in foil and warm in toaster oven
• Combine avocado, onion, garlic salt and cilantro
• Warm beans in a small saucepan over low heat. Let simmer as you cook chicken
• In large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add Match chicken (as a block); cook until well browned, about 4 minutes per side
• Transfer chicken to cutting board and cut in half. Slice each half into 1/4 in. strips
• Spread avocado mixture over tortillas. Add 2 -3 strips of chicken to each and top with diced tomato and beans
• Squeeze lime wedge over each and/or add hot sauce (if desired). Roll up and serve

Yield: Serves 2

Today’s post was supposed to be a review of yesterday’s vegan-themed episode of The Martha Stewart show. Turns out however, that I don’t have the Hallmark channel and the folks at Martha don’t believe in video clips. So much for that plan!

I can’t even really find that much commentary about it yet. I witnessed a little unrest on Twitter yesterday about something to do with Kathy Freston featuring a recipe with honey as an ingredient, but that’s about it. I didn’t see the episode, so I’m not going there. If video clips do eventually show up online, I’ll let you know.

On to the grub! Here’s another quick, weeknight recipe that gets a lot of face-time in our house. Tacos are pretty basic, which makes it really easy to swap out the standard fixins for a vegan-friendly fiesta! As the name of the post implies, we usually use a vegan chorizo sausage from (where else) Trader Joe’s as a base and then build from there.

I’m posting the ingredients list just as a reference to what we actually use, but feel free to add, subtract or substitute as you please!

Vegan Chorizo Tacos

Ingredients

5-6 Whole Wheat Tortillas
1/2 Vegan Chorizo Sausage
1 can Black Beans
1 cup Follow Your Heart Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
Mild Pico de Gallo/Salsa
Shredded Lettuce
Guacamole

Directions

• Wrap stacked tortillas in aluminum foil and warm in toaster oven on medium-low heat
• Warm the beans in a small saucepan
• Cut one end of the sausage and squeeze half of the chorizo out of the casing. Cook chorizo in a small skillet over medium heat with a splash of canola oil, according to package directions (just a few minutes)
• Portion out remaining ingredients in small bowls and set everything on the table or counter. Assemble tacos, DIY style and enjoy!