Not an original title for a post, but stay with
me. Our healthy living and eating journey has caused us to try food and
food combinations we would not have in the past. One huge change we
have made in our diet is the amount of meat we eat. We LOVE all-natural, local meat. You name it, we eat it, but in
small quantities. We are eat real food on a budget and organic,
all-natural meat stretches our budget so we substitute other
protein sources for meat. (STAY WITH ME)
The O'Tooles could live off of Mexican food...well O would need to have his Indian food fix, but you get the point. Our
family really enjoys the flavors in Mexican food, specifically lime, cheese, and
cilantro. Tacos are a weekly meal at our house. However, we no
longer eat beef or ground turkey tacos, we eat lentil tacos.
This recipe is one I found on the internet and
tweaked along the way. My boys enjoy taco night just as much as they did
when we had beef tacos, if not more. I cannot remember the last time we
had beef tacos, they are that good. They both actually request lentil tacos now, I promise they are that good.
Plus, these tacos are economical and you probably
have everything you need in your kitchen already, except lentils. Don't be fooled by the length of the recipe, it's mostly spices. Give
them a try and let me know what you think.
Cooking Lentils
Ingredients
1 cup brown lentils
3 cups water (or 2 cups water and 1 cup broth -
chicken or vegetable)
2 cloves garlic
Salt as needed
Directions
1. Rinse and drain the lentils
2. Place in medium saucepan with water or
water/broth combination, garlic, and salt (if you like)
3. Bring to a boil
4. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until tender
(approximately 15-20 minutes)
5. Remove from heat (do not worry about draining the
lentils)
Lentil and Cauliflower Rice
Tacos
Ingredients
1 cup brown
lentils, uncooked, or 3 cups cooked lentils
3 cups
water
2 cloves
garlic, minced
1 large
head cauliflower
1 large
onion, chopped
4 cloves
garlic, minced
2
tablespoons mild chili powder, divided
1 teaspoon
salt, or to taste
1 Jar (or
small can) tomato paste
1/2
teaspoon cumin
1/2
teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon
oregano
1/4 to 1/2
teaspoon chipotle powder or cayenne pepper (to taste)
Cilantro
(to your liking)
Generous
grating black pepper
Salt
to taste
Suggested Toppings
Cabbage (shredded to be used as a
topping on your taco)
Avocado
Lime
Cheese (we use Queso Fresco because of
the limited ingredients – REAL food – and the saltiness of the cheese goes very
well with this dish)
Salsa
Directions
1. Cauliflower “rice”
Remove the leaves and bottom stem
from 1 large head of cauliflower
Grate the cauliflower using either a
box grater or the food processor to create rice-sized pieces.
To use the food processor, cut the
cauliflower into quarters and then cut or break each quarter into pieces.
Process one quarter at a time, pulsing on and off, until grated. Be careful not
to over-process.
2. Prepare the taco mixture
Heat a very large skillet over
medium-high heat. We use cast iron so we rarely use oil, you may need to use
olive oil or another oil of your choosing.
Please stay away from canola/vegetable oil as it is highly processed and
contains GMOs
Add the onion and cook, stirring,
until it begins to brown.
Add the cauliflower and garlic - saute for 3-4 minutes.
Add 1 tablespoon of chili powder and
continue cooking until the cauliflower is tender, about 4 more minutes
Add lentils, their ‘broth’, and the
jar of tomato paste to the skillet.
Add the remaining chili powder and
all remaining seasonings including cilantro to your liking. We use about ½ tablespoon of cilantro.
Cook on medium until heated through
and flavors are combined.
Squeeze the juice of one to two limes
on the mixture (we enjoy lime immensely, you may like less lime than we do)
Add salt to taste.
*Please adjust the spices to your tastes.
3. Build your tacos
Corn tortillas (we use Food
for Life Sprouted Corn Tortillas)
Avocado or guacamole to your liking
Lentil Taco mixture
Shredded Cabbage
Cheese (please try the Queso Fresco
with this dish)
Salsa (we use homemade but look for a
very simple, flavorful salsa)
Lime juice (we squeeze the juice of ½
of a lime on each taco)
Preparation time: 30 minute(s) |
Cooking time: 35 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 7
This is the original recipe I adapted to fit our tastes http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2013/04/lentil-and-cauliflower-rice-tacos.html
ENJOY!
Cyndi
