Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Marinated Bean and Potato Tacos and a Choose Your Own Adventure






Remember the "choose your own adventure" series? I loved those things as a kid, a book you can read again and again! What more would any eight year old girl want (I don't know friends maybe).


Anyhoo, this is a super simple recipe so I thought I'd turn it into a behind the scenes peek at what goes on in my kitchen when I am cooking and running on very little sleep. I fully intend to get seven hours tonight. With luck there will be no broken night lights, 2 am "frow ups", or 5am "I just decided I really like the sun and I want to sing about it.....loudly". It does make the recipe a little more confusing, however it is like I said a super simple recipe and I totally have faith in you.


What you need

2 cloves of garlic finely minced
12 oz jar of Mango Peach Salsa
2 baked potatoes cooled and diced
1 can of beans drained and rinsed. I suggest pinto beans, I did not have them and used butter beans. I think pinto would have worked better.
hot sauce and salt to taste.

tortilla shells

Add the salsa to a large mixing bowl one tablespoon at a time (no not really) until you realize you want to use the whole dang jar and dump that in.

Take a moment to look at how pretty the salsa jar is. Isn't it lovely? It vaguely reminds you of the cover of a book you once read.....you liked that book.
At this point you can either

1.) add the garlic, diced potatoes and beans to the bowl.
or
2.)contemplate the jar some more.....yes you could recycle it, but you could also get crafty with it...it's the perfect size for a candle isn't it?

If you chose 1 continue on with the recipe. If you chose 2 scroll to the bottom.

Carefully stir in the potatoes and beans and add hot sauce and salt to taste. Cover and put the bowl in the fridge.

Leave it there for about a half hour, while it is marinating you can fry or bake up some tortilla shells.

While your tortilla shells are frying (let's just say you fried them ok) your phone will beep.
You....

3.) Dutifully remain in the kitchen and dice taco fixings next to the stove where you can keep a watchful eye on your tortillas.
4.) Go check , and update, and otherwise get lost on facebook.

Those who chose 3 may proceed.....4....scroll to the bottom.

When your tortillas are done salt them and let them cool. Pull the taco filling out of the fridge and fill your tortillas with the marinated potato mixture, lettuce, bell pepper, cilantro, cheese, rice cheese or whatever else you like to put on tacos. As is this recipe is vegan (double check your ingredients). However I don't know enough about protein combinations to tell you whether or not it is a complete meal....perhaps someone out there can enlighten me?

After all of the tortillas are done, and your tacos are filled, take a picture for your blog. Because there is nooooo way you could have possibly done that while you were facebooking or waiting for the tortillas to cook.

Eat, enjoy, and be thankful that even in your current scatterbrained state there are still recipes that are pretty darn fool proof.




2.) Grab everything out of your craft closet (you have been wanting to organize it anyway). You are looking for candle wax or other things that might help you re purpose this jar. The end result being that your tacos will not be ready until eight o' clock at night.



4.) While on facyspace you lose track of time. Your taco shells are burnt and they won't open properly so you won't be able to get a lot of filling into them. You will say a quick prayer of thanks that your husband actually likes burnt food, and when no one is looking you will eat extra taco filling out of the bowl with a spoon........don't be ashamed, we've all done it.




Well I hope that all made sense, I'm about to go to bed as we speak. These tacos were tasty, and super easy to make. They will definitely be a go to meal in our house. I recommend the mango peach salsa, because a regular tomato salsa won't have as much flavor to it. Also I really like the sweet and spicy combo....could you tell?

7 comments:

  1. Hey, those look good! I made tacos last night..not like this, but they were pretty good. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. ok
    1) more and more I realize you and your dh are made for each other (zombies, really?)

    2) I love choose your own adventure books, we totally should have been friends when we were younger. but you were probably too cool to hang out with me
    3) I totally save jars for crafty things. I have no idea what those crafty things are, but I just know one day I'll be like I wish I had a jar and I'll have one. I also save them in case I ever get a food processor so I have things to save pesto,salsa, and hummus in (a girl can hope right?)

    4) I'm so glad I'm not the only one that gets sidetracked on fb and burns things (it's only happened once and now I cant remember what it was, but I distinctly remember burning something)

    5) this is the most important one: I miss you

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ms.Stars,
    They were really good!

    Ms.Berries,
    I miss you too. I don't think I would have been too cool for you. I had an inhaler and a unique sense of style that kept me from developing friends who wanted to be seen with me in public.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awesome. That was hilarious! I look forward to trying this recipe....now just to convince the husband the world won't implode if we have a dinner that doesn't involve meat....

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  5. I've found the best strategy with people who like to eat meat at every meal is to just not mention that it is vegetarian. Sometimes they notice....but not usually. Maybe that will work.

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  6. I love mango peach salsa.

    It's it funny how you an put ANYTHING on a taco shell and it can be delicious?

    I agree with your comment about not telling them it's vegetarian. If I TELL my husband there is no meat in it, he won't eat it. He will label it "rabbit food". He's eaten plenty of food with beans and it's not until he's half way into it, he realizes there is no meat!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Debbi,
    I agree. Tacos are just all around good eats. :)

    ReplyDelete

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