Lentil Tacos with Mexican Rice and salsa

This is our new goto taco recipe. We both love it and it has become a favorite and we don't miss the cheese at all.

Tom's Way: Lay a large flour tortilla on the plate, Spread out a good sized scoop of rice and the lentils. Then, add a bit of taco sauce and top with a good helping of the fresh black bean and sweet corn salsa. Top with a few crumbled sweet corn chips.

Mexican Rice
Ingredients

• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 6 oz of tomato sauce (use an 8 oz can and save the other two ounces)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic
• cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Add 1 cup of brown rice to a skillet on medium heat. I like to toast the rice a bit before adding water but if you are too impatient you can skip that part.
2. Add 2 1/2 cups of water and the 6 ounces of tomato sauce. I’ve used the whole 8 ounces when I made this with white rice but the brown rice doesn’t need all of the tomato sauce.
3. Add the salt and garlic.
4. Stir everything well then put a lid on the pan. The rice will cook best with a lid on. The temperature can be turned down once it is boiling well. Start checking the rice at about 30 minutes but it may need to cook closer to 45 minutes. It is done when most of the  liquid is absorbed and the rice is soft. Remove from heat.
5. Cilantro can be added on top of the rice after it is done cooking. Just sprinkle fresh cilantro on top of the rice and place lid back on skillet for a few minutes.

Lentil Tacos
Ingredients

• 1 cup dry lentils (rinsed)
• taco seasoning (chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cumin) to taste
• 2 oz tomato sauce

Instructions

1. Cook lentils in a medium saucepan with 2 cups of water.
2. Cook them for 15 minutes or until they are soft.
3. If there is still water in the pan drain them.
4. Add taco seasoning to taste and the tomato sauce.
5. Stir and enjoy.

Cowboy Caviar (Salsa)
A fresh, simple dip that can be thrown together in under 15 minutes!
INGREDIENTS:

• 3 Roma tomatoes , seeds removed, diced
• 2 ripe avocados diced
• 1 15 oz can black beans , rinsed and drained
• 1 15 oz can black eyed peas , rinsed and drained
• 1 ½ cups frozen sweet corn , thawed (I just usually toss it in the salad frozen unless I plan on eating it immediately, it thaws quite quickly).
• 1 bell pepper , diced (I used half a green and half a red, but color doesn’t matter)
• ⅓ cup red onion , diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper , seeds removed, diced into very small pieces
• ⅓ cup Cilantro , finely chopped

DRESSING

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice (fresh preferred)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine tomatoes, avocado, onion, black beans, black eyed peas, corn, pepper, jalapeno pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl. Toss/stir well so that ingredients are well-combined.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
3. Pour dressing over other ingredients and stir/toss very well.
4. Keep refrigerated. If not serving immediately, be sure to toss/stir well before serving.