Lentil Tacos and Cucumber Basil Lemonade

We have made a pleasant discovery. When prepared properly, lentils can resemble ground beef enough that you might actually convince yourself that's what they are. I know it sounds weird, but I'm being serious. In the disguise of tacos, with all the delicious spices that go along with it, Will and I could have sworn we were eating beef tacos, even though we were acutely aware we were not. And the nice perk of it is, we didn't get that greasy meat feel after eating them and we hadn't shelled out the money on getting fresh beef. Go figure.

Even if you're not craving meat, these lentil tacos are appetizing, filling, and will feed you for several meals. After a couple days, we ran out of the tacos themselves and Will combined all the ingredients into a dip, which we enjoyed equally as much, if not more.

I did not contribute much to this dinner, since Will still has a lot of free time on his hands. I was put in charge of mixing the spices and that was about it food-wise. HOWEVER, I was entirely in charge of the drinks, which was the best role I could fulfill. On our road trip, we ate at this incredible down-home style restaurant in Lexington named Ramsey's. One of Will's coworkers had recommended we try it and we are indebted to him for life. It was truly one of those life-altering food experiences where you waddle out of the restaurant but know unless you go back there, you will never have a meal like that again. While chowing down on fried chicken, mac & cheese, the best potato salad I've ever eaten, and parmesan fried corn on the cob, I had to wash it all down with something. And that something was my never favorite summer drink recipe: the cucumber basil lemonade. It's extremely simple-mix vodka, crushed ice, lemonade, basil and cucumber slices in a glass (or a Mason jar in Ramsey's case). I made up my own combination of the drink (so this is not the exact same as Ramsey's) and you can just Google it if you want to find a more tried and true combo. However, I think my version tasted pretty close to what I had there and was simple and refreshing.

Lentil Tacos (adapted from Budget Bytes; serves 6)
2 cups dry brown lentils
1 yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 recipe taco seasoning*
1 tsp salt
corn tortillas
1 recipe pico de gallo**
8 oz. sour cream
2 avocados (sadly we skipped these this go round)

Sort and rinse the lentils. Bring 3 cups of water to a rolling boil in a medium pot. Once boiling, add lentils and let pot return to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and place a lid on top. Allow lentils to simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, taste lentils to see if they are tender (but not mushy). keep cooking if not ready. Once ready, drain in a colander.

While lentils simmer, prepare pico de gallo and mix taco seasoning. Then dice the onion, mince the garlic and cook them with olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until tender. Once onion is tender, add the drained lentils, taco seasoning, and about a half cup of water. Stir and cook over medium heat until mixture has thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Season to taste with salt (around 1 tsp).

In a skillet over medium heat, lightly toast the corn tortillas on both sides. The tortillas should be lightly browned in some spots, but still pliable. Once tortillas are ready, begin to build your tacos! Use about 1/4 cup seasoned lentils per taco, a small amount of pico de gallo, and sour cream.

*Taco Seasoning
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp (smoked) paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
15 cranks ground black pepper
1/2 tsp corn starch
Mix.

**Pico de Gallo
1 large tomato
1/2 medium vidalia onion
1 medium lime (or lime juice)
1/4 bunch cilantro
salt to taste
Cut tomato and onion into a small dice. Chop cilantro and combine with tomatoes and onion. Squeeze in lime juice and salt and mix to desire.

Recipes: Budget Bytes: Lentil Tacos, Budget Bytes: Taco Seasoning, Budget Bytes: Pico de Gallo


Cucumber Basil Lemonade
1 shot vodka
crushed ice
~1 cup lemonade
basil leaves
cucumber slices

Pour in vodka, lemonade and crushed ice. Stir and then add basil leaves and cucumber slices. Stir to mix and enjoy!

The complete package-tacos & lemonade.