Vegan Bean Taco Filling

I am officially on Winter Break and home in New Jersey! I drove down yesterday for six hours straight, which was probably not a good idea because I felt a flu coming on just as I arrived home. Thankfully, we had NyQuil so I took some before going to bed and woke up a wee bit better.

The snow almost stopped me from coming home yesterday. The roads had been cleared the day after it snowed so I would have been fine driving around, but the only obstacle was actually our driveway. We have a hill for our driveway and it was the source of our troubles last winter also. We usually wait for the snow and ice to melt, but that takes a while as it gets less sun than the other roads do. With the combination of a sunny day and my sprinkling salt on the ice, I was able to make it down the driveway safely and start the journey home.

I made this taco filling a few days before the snow and was very glad I did because I had nothing to eat and going to the store in the snow was not worth it. Besides in tacos, this filling would work great in burritos. I've been eating them in nachos and it tastes yummy. Just top tortilla chips with small spoonfuls of the filling, sprinkle shredded Mexican blend cheese, and microwave for 30 seconds. I replaced the bell pepper with celery (all I had) and replaced one can of black beans with kidney beans. I thought I already had one can of black beans so only bought one more, but apparently I forgot I used it. I could probably mash the beans a bit more, but I also liked biting into whole ones. And I just love the addition of cornmeal.

No snow in New Jersey yet. Apparently, it's supposed to snow on Christmas, but I have come not to trust Weather.com when it comes to snow. It would be nice if it did. I have not seen a White Christmas in a very long time.



Vegan Bean Taco Filling [Makes about 4 cups]
From Allrecipes

- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 2 14.5-oz cans black beans, rinsed, drained, and mashed
- 2 tbsp yellow cornmeal
- 1 1/2 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 cup salsa

1. Heat oil in saucepan. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper and cook until tender.
2. Add mashed beans. Mix in cornmeal, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and salsa. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.