Taco Mania

Last night I made 3 different taco fillings and we had a night of Taco Mania. We ate these fillings with soft corn tortillas along with some lettuce, avocado, and tofu queso fresco. The cumin lime tofu tended to get mixed with the other fillings to make really nice tasty combinations. We also had a little bit of the chorizo potato empanada filling, that we also ate as a taco filling, making taco mania night a night filled with 4 taco fillings!!

Our favorite of the night (although it was hard to choose) was surprisingly the Tequila Spiked Zucchini Potato filling - it was also the spiciest of the bunch:

Tequila Spiked Zucchini Potato Filling

2 small Zucchini, julienned **
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp Olive or corn oil
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
1 small red potato, cut into matchsticks
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp mexican oregano
1 Tbsp pickled jalepeno, chopped
1 Tbsp tequila
1 Tbsp lime juice
salt to taste

Place the julienned zucchini in a strainer, sprinkle with salt, toss to coat and allow it to sit for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, potatoes, and bell pepper. Stir occasionally. When the potatoes start to brown and little and are almost cooked, grab handfuls of the zucchini and squeeze hard to squeeze out as much water as you can and then add to the skillet. Add the cumin, thyme, and oregano. Cook for a few minutes until the zucchini is cooked. Add the garlic and jalepeno and cook for about a minute. Deglaze the pan with tequila and lime juice. Remove from heat and add more salt if needed.

** This is my new favorite kitchen gadget! The Oxo Julienne peeler. But keep your fingers well away from this.

 

Here is a pic of the black bean filling which is a staple in our house:

Black Bean Filling

1/2-1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 reb bell pepper, chopped
1 sm onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 jalepeno, minced
2 cups black beans (drained and rinsed if canned)
1/4 cup water, veg stock, or bean broth (if not canned beans)
salt, to taste
1/4 cup cilanto, minced
1 Tbsp lime juice

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet. Add the onion, bell pepper, and jalepeno. Cook for about 5 minutes until onions are softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the beans and the bean broth (or water or stock). Cook for a few minutes. Add lime juice and cilantro and remove from heat. Add salt to taste.

 

This tofu filling was tasty, but be careful not to let it burn.

Cumin Lime Tofu Filling

12-14 oz tofu, pressed, cut into 1 in cubes
1 Tbsp olive oil

Marinade Ingredients
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cilantro, chopped

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a measuring cup and whisk well to mix in the sugar. Place the tofu in a ziploc bag and pour in the marinade ingredients. Close up the bag and try to remove any excess air in the bag. Place the tofu in the refrigerator for an hour (flip the bag over after 30 minutes).

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Before it gets really hot, drain the tofu and add it to the pan (otherwise be careful when you add it as any marinade clinging to the tofu will splatter). Cook the tofu for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally until it is browned. A splatter screen might be helpful here to keep your stove from getting too messy.

Please stop with the Zucchini already Stuffed Zucchini

I don't hate zucchini. I usually look forward to the first zucchini in the spring. But after I've had that one or two of the first zucchini's of the season, I'm pretty much done with zucchini for the year. So, now it is November and I've had 20 weeks of CSA zucchini. I can't make any more zucchini bread or zucchini muffins and even my co-workers have had enough of my extra zucchini. How is my CSA still putting zucchini in my box? It's snowing outside for pete's sake. Anyway, this week I got 8 small zucchini's. We used 2 in a stir fry which left 6.

I really really did not want to cook this zucchini, but I stuffed them and they came out amazingly well. I have a theory that putting Field Roast sausage into anything makes it taste great. I got the idea when I saw Sheree at Life on the Vegan Highway post about her stuffed zucchini boats. She didn't post a recipe so I made this one up. I did follow her idea to use field roast and brown rice. I used french fried onions as a topping because I had them, but vegan parm would work well here too. We did actually like the crunch of the french fried onions on top.

Here is my version of stuffed zucchini boats. They'll take the zucchini hate right out of you.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 sm onion, diced
1 sm bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
2-4 Tbsp white wine
2-3 cups spinach, destemmed, rinsed well, and roughly chopped
2 field roast italian sausages, crumbled
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2-3 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp water
6 small-med zucchini (prep below)
salt
1/2 c french fried onions in a can, or vegan parm
Preheat oven to 375. Oil a 9x13 casserole dish.

Make the Filling:
In a non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and peppers and cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, thyme, oregano, and pepper. Cook for about a minute. Deglaze with white wine. Add the spinach and sausage to the pan and a little water if the spinach is pretty dry. Cover and cook for about a minute until the spinach is wilted. Add the soy sauce, tomato paste, and brown rice. Stir to combine. Add about 2 Tbsp water to loosen up the tomato paste and make a sauce. Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare the boats:
Slice the ends off of the zucchinis. Slice in half lengthwise. Use a melon baller to scoop out the seeds and make room for filling. Place them on a plate, sprinkle very lightly with salt, and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. You may need to do this in a couple of batches. They should now have a slight give to them. Place them in the casserole.

Fill the boats:
Fill each zucchini half with as much filling as will go in them. Any remaining filling can just go into the dish around the zucchini. Top with crushed french fried onions or vegan parm.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, uncovered.

This filling & technique would also work really well with stuffed bell peppers.