Muffin Pan Tacos (vegetarian) and A Halloween Sneak Peak

Hey all, I told you I'd try the muffin pan tacos and if they were a success, I'd blog about them. I think you can figure out what happened. I made a few changes from the original recipe. First, I swapped the regular tortillas for Ezekiel ones. Ezekiel tortillas are really, really good if you fry until crisp, or in this case, bake them. In fact, we have several friends who eat them over regular tortillas because they think they taste better. We agree. They can take the place of anything but a soft taco. Truth be told, they are only great when prepared crunchy. They are also way healthier for you because they're made from sprouted grains which means when eaten, the body can assimilate the nutrients easily and the fiber-rich carbohydrates are converted more slowly, which means a lesser spike in blood sugar requiring less insulin to balance and therefore less fat storage of excess sugars. Or in other words, they are better for your waistline. Find them at any health food store or in the freezer section of some grocery stores.

excuse the grease stained muffin pan

The other changes included getting rid of the meat and replacing it with a well seasoned black bean filling (I actually stole the recipe from a black bean taquito) and omitting the cheese. So actually these are vegan. I love cheese as much as the next girl but there is so much flavor going on in this dish you don't really need it and I'd rather save my calories (and...I'm still on my cleanse). However, if you can't imagine a taco without cheese by all means, just top the black bean filling with a pinch or two of cheddar and bake as directed.

You can pick these up and eat them with your hand, but after I snapped the glamour shot above, I assaulted that taco with an onslaught of shredded lettuce, guacamole, black olives, cilantro, more salsa and hot sauce. I was kind of like a salad, but not really. It was much too delicious to be a salad. More like cheese-less nachos with tons of fresh crisp ingredients on each bite. Yummy, yummy in your tummy.

A mango salsa would be great with these as well. Mangos and black beans are perfect together even with all the other toppings.

Also, here's a sneak peak of Halloween tonight. Our neighborhood had a trick or treat on Saturday and all the kids dressed up and went door to door. This is different for them because our town celebrates Halloween down town. All the businesses hand out candy and that's where everyone gathers. It's really fun and a mad house down there!

Isabella as Elizabeth Swan from "Pirates Of The Caribbean" and Olivia as a flower fairy

Jeremiah as a dinosaur and his friend Will as Spider man

We are not dressing up this year :( we didn't have a party to go to or anything so it's all about the kids. But I'll leave you with pic's from two of my favorite Halloweens:

What's a 7 months pregnant woman supposed to be? Juno!! I loved this.

This was a huge Halloween party we had at Mambo Italiano after we bought the restaurant. So much fun! I was Sleeping Beauty and Jeremy was the Prince.

Muffin Pan Tacos

adapted from naturallyella.com and doyouknowthemuffinpan.com

makes 12 muffin cups- serves 3-4

FOR THE MUFFIN PAN TACOS:

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 to 1 small jalapeno, seeded and diced (1/2 will not be spicy)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cans black beans, drained

a big handful of chopped cilantro (about 1/4 cup chopped)

12 Ezekiel tortillas or flour tortillas

Herdez mild tomato salsa

FOR ASSEMBLY AND TOPPING:

Shredded Iceburg lettuce, for topping (about 3 cups)

Cholula hot sauce

2 handfuls cilantro, chopped

sour cream (optional: for non-vegan only)

Pam spray, for muffin tins

Guacamole (recipe follows- or store bought)

FOR QUICK GUACAMOLE:

6 ripe avocados

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 a lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion and jalapeno pepper until onion becomes translucent and starts to brown. Stir in garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, and continue to cook for 1-2 more minutes. Add in black beans and cilantro, cooking until beans are heated through-two to three minutes more. Turn off heat and set aside until ready to use.

Cut 4-inch diameter circles out of the tortillas. The easiest way is to use a standard margarita glass as your guide and cut around with either kitchen shears or a pizza cutter. Save leftovers to make chips some other time. Wrap tortilla circles 3 or 4 at a time in a barely damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds to soften. mold the circles into a lightly greased muffin tin. Spoon the black bean mixture evenly between the cups, then top with 1 teaspoon of salsa each. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the bean cups are baking, shred your lettuce, then chop avocados and ix with the lemon and garlic salt to make a quick guacamole. Taste and add more salt or lemon if needed.

When muffin cups are done just pop them out and top with your favorite toppings.

Happy Halloween Everyone!