TVP Tacos - Vegan & Fabulous

TVP (textured vegetable protein, though there is also TSP, which is soy protein) is something I've been sort of wary of. Call me crazy, but it looked like pebbles. Why would I want to eat pebbles? Alright, so I used it twice before: Shepherd's Pie and Winter Stew, both of which were excellent. I had actually forgotten that the TVP was in my cupboard, hidden behind some dried beans and pasta. I am a forgetful chickpea sometimes. Now where was I? Oh, yes, I have hardly used TVP before. I'm seriously skeptical of meat replacements, in general because I never really liked meat too much. But, I am coming around a bit.

If you've been here before you may notice that I have a fascination (also read: addiction) with tacos. They're one of the best foods ever created, hands-down. Name a better food? You can't, can you? Ha. I win! So, anyway, when I was deciding what I wanted for dinner, I found the TVP along with some crunchy taco shells and half a jar of salsa. Thus, my TVP taco recipe was born.

And for those of you following the VegNews meat photo debacle, these photos are mine and they are 100% vegan!!

Anywhooo, here's my recipe. It makes kind of a lot...more than I anticipated, actually. I'd say it makes about 10-12 tacos depending on the size of them.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup TVP/TSP
• 3/4 cup plus 3 TB veg broth
• 1 TB Braggs aminos
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1 cup chunky salsa of your choice (I maybe used a bit more)
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup bell pepper, diced (I used an orange one since it was on sale)
• 1 1/2 TB Meg's Taco Seasoning or your favorite spice blend
• 1 TB olive oil
• salt and pepper

Method:

1. In a small pot, bring the broth, Braggs, garlic powder and onion powder to a boil with the lid on. Once boiling, remove from the heat and stir in the TVP until you don't see any dry spots. Let set aside for about 8 minutes while the TVP re-hydrates. 
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and bell pepper. When the onion is translucent (5-6 minutes), add the taco seasoning, salsa, and re-hydrated TVP. Mix well.
3. Heat through, about 7-8 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. It should look like this:

No matter how you assemble your taco, you have me to thank! Hahahaha. I'm kidding. Sort of. Mwaahaaahaaaaaa!