Who doesn’t love a good taco?

I know that taco night is a weekly ritual here. Below is the collection of recipes that I use for my inspiration.

I’ve recently started adding more

TacoSalad — My goal for next week is to work on my photography! I know this is not that appealing looking from my photos!! Stay tuned as I keep learning new tricks!

variety. I love to have a lot of different textures AND the opportunity to amp up the nutrition level.

Serve your fillings up in a

traditional corn tortilla or if you prefer
crunchy taco shell (Old El Paso Taco Shells are vegan) there’s also
burrito
taco salad or
we like to make taco rice bowls.

All of these come together in a snap and make plenty for leftovers for lunch or another taco night later in the week.

Here are my go to’s for an anything but boring plant-based taco night!

Red Lentil Tacos from Coffee and Quinoa. I followed her recipe the first time and now I tweak to our preferences.

Chipotle Roasted Beet Tacos from yupitsvegan.com. I just discovered these and they made a delicious addition to taco night! I only did the beet portion of her recipe this week but I really want to try her cashew queso fresco.

I will also add shredded Mexican spiced tofu to the mix (my recipe)

Mexican spiced tofu

1 block extra firm, organic tofu, drained
2 teaspoons, grape seed oil or SmartBalance oil
1 Tbsp, chili powder
1/2 Tbsp, cumin
1/2 Tbsp, paprika or smoked paprika
1 tsp, oregano
1 clove garlic, minced

Heat oil over medium heat. While oil is heating grate drained tofu using your cheese grater.
Add spices to oil and let bloom, about 2 minutes
Add minced garlic, and cook about 20 seconds, do not let it burn.
Add tofu and mix with spices.
The goal here is to try to brown the tofu. Cook until it reaches a consistency you like. You will probably have to experiment here to determine how you like it. The tofu is very forgiving and adds bulk to the lentils to create a very satisfying taco filling.

Sometimes I add a can of black beans heated and spiced up and sometimes not – just depends on what I have on hand and exactly how much I want to have leftover.

Usually we already have leftover rice, if not I’ll make up a batch to have on hand at this point. I use the Bistro Blend Rice from the bulk section at our Winco but really any rice you have or like will work.

This week I also diced 2 Yukon Gold potatoes, roasted and added them to the mix.

My go-to salsa:

1 can of fire roasted tomatoes (with or without green chilies)
1/4 sliced onion (as much or as little as you like)
1/2 sliced jalapeno (fresh or pickled or none – whatever you have one hand),
1/4 cup cilantro (again as much or as little as you like)
1/2 lime, squeezed (can sub lemon)

Put all ingredients into a food processor or blender. Blend as chunky or smooth as you prefer and then viola! Super easy and always tasty salsa without the pesky plastic container.

Serve with: