Vegetarian Tacos

When making the decision to become a vegetarian, tacos were the one thing holding me back. Unawares of an alternative, and mourning my perfected chicken tacos recipe, I thought I'd never have tacos again. I was wrong.

It's taken me about a year and a half to perfect my vegetarian tacos. I went through various phases - using frozen fake beef crumbles cooked different ways, copying Chipotle's black bean recipe - and nothing was ever magic. Tacos are magical, after all.

On a whim, I decided to cook my beans exactly like I used to cook my chicken and beef. It worked, spectacularly.

I quick soaked an cooked 1 pound of black beans. When they were done, I added in Old El Paso 40% less sodium taco seasoning with a little water (someday, maybe I'll make my own, but this has always been my favorite), a can of mild Ro*Tel tomatoes and chilies, and Old El Paso taco sauce, to taste.

Then, I made some Chipotle-style onions and peppers. I chopped a sprig of fresh thyme, for seasoning, and cooked 1 onion and 1-1/2 green bell pepper in canola oil.

I prefer to use Old El Paso Super Stuffer shells, as the regular shells seem so small. I top my tacos with a Mexican cheese blend (whichever brand seems best at the time), one of Publix's fresh salsa blend (however, this time I used Frontera, which is highly rated on Fooducate.)

These were the best vegetarian tacos I've made to date. I've found my method!