Veggie Tacos

Another great recipe from allrecipes.com for Tasty Lentil Tacos. This is a delicious meatless meal!

Here's the recipe:

1 tsp canola oil (or your oil of choice)
2/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 small clove garlic, minced
2/3 cup dried lentils, rinsed
1 tablespoon taco seasoning, or to taste
1 2/3 cup chicken broth ( I use water instead, no need for extra sodium)
2/3 cup salsa
12 taco shells (or whole wheat tortilla shells)

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. Mix lentils and taco seasoning into onion mixture; cook and stir for one minute.
2. Cover lentils with chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
3. Uncover and cook until mixture is slightly thickened, six to eight minutes. Mash lentils slightly; stir in salsa.
4. Serve about 1/4 cup lentil mixture in each taco shell; top with lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and sour cream. 

I just use this as a base for our tacos or burritos, then go crazy adding other ingredients for toppings.

We typically choose from: corn, avocado, kidney or black beans, tomatoes, cheese, greek yogurt, brown rice, shredded spinach or kale, roasted butternut squash chunks, shredded zucchini, sauteed vegetables...

Parents magazine even recommends trying the toppings below to get kids more interested. I can't say that they all sound good to me, but they might interest you!

• scrambled eggs
• diced mango
• diced pineapple
• diced peaches
• pinto beans
• crushed tortilla chips
• roasted sweet potato chunks
• radish coins
• lime wedges

I put every topping in a separate bowl on the table. Yes, it requires dirtying lots of dishes, but my son has fun creating his own taco from all the colorful toppings. Let me know what your favorite taco toppings or burrito ingredients are!

Action item: If you don't already, try a meatless meal at least one day per week. 

For further reading: Meatless Monday