When I started to cut meat out from my diet, red meat was the first to go, especially ground beef. Only two recipes exist that I would miss – Sloppy Joe’s and tacos. Sloppy Joe’s is still a work in process because I am allergic to soy and cannot use a soy-based ground meat substitute, but tacos not only turned out easy to whip up, but far surpassing any previous taco recipe I had ever tasted. Sorry to my mom and my best friends mom who previously held the title of World’s Best Tacos.

Wash, scrub and cut however many red potatoes you would like to use. I do not peel them because there are a lot of nutrients in the skin of potatoes and I don’t want to lose that. Cut out any bad parts, though.

Add potatoes to a pot of boiling water, boil until the potatoes are tender enough that they come apart if poked at with a fork.


Drain potatoes in a colander, then add back into the pot (burner is off, though) and mash them. You can add milk to smooth it out a bit.


Add your lentils and thoroughly incorporate them into the mashed potatoes. Cover, and set aside.


Add oil to a heavy skillet. Wait until it is hot before adding your first corn tortilla.


My frying method is to submerge the tortilla into the oil, then immediately flip it onto its other side and submerge again then…


Immediately fold it and let it finish frying as is, maybe keep the tongs between the two ends to prevent it from frying together.


Place your freshly fried taco shells on a plate covered with paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Let them cool slightly.


Gather your toppings. I used shredded sharp cheddar cheese, baby lettuce mix, pico de gallo mixture (I hate chopping onions & tomatoes, so this mix is perfect!), avocado and sour cream.


Fill your tacos, plate them up and gorge yourself silly!

NOTES:
- I am very proud of myself because this was the first time I fried that the oil never once hiss/spat back at me. The tricks involved are:
1) Make sure to fill the skillet with plenty of oil
2) Make sure to get it hot initially and THEN reduce heat to medium for the rest of the frying, keeping it a low sizzle
- Although I depicted lentils here, to be honest, I prefer my original recipe of black & kidney beans. Use whatever you like.
- If you have potato/bean mixture leftover, they also make GREAT leftovers and to change things up a bit you can make them into nachos (using pre-made tortilla chips or cut up leftover tortillas lengthwise & fry or bake) ~ or even as breakfast with a side of scrambled eggs and salsa.