Vegetarian Taco Ring

Sorry for the delay in posting. I haven't been doing much cooking recently. But that should be changing since I gave up eating out for Lent! And I should let ya'll know that I won't be eating meat this Lent so expect more vegetarian posts :)

The mind is a strange thing. Before Lent I had few to no cravings for meat (in particular red meat). I spend one day as a vegetarian and I suddenly want nothing but a giant bowl of chili. So on my trip to the grocery store last night I picked up some meat substitute and made my take on an old recipe from my Aunt Joan called a Taco Ring! The original recipe is from Pampered Chef and is intended to be baked on their round stoneware. But a pizza baking sheet works just as well.  Here is a link if you would like to try their version. Taco Ring Recipe

Before giving you the recipe, I would like to make a few comments about meat substitutes and my preferences for using them. These products are made from vegetable proteins and pressed into various forms (ground "meat", "chick'n" tenders, etc). My first rule for using these is to always use them straight from the freezer. If thawed the products often fall apart. Secondly, these products are usually extremely low in fat and (very much like extra lean meat products) can often be very dry. It is very important that you add either fat or liquid to them to make for a more pleasant texture.

As a native Texan from a family of serious meat lovers (speaking of, I'm sure if my mother is reading this she is rolling her eyes and muttering about "those damn yankees" ruining me) I think I can weigh in on the best substitute for meat products. In college I would choke down a Boca Burger every now and then when I was low on Points values and desperately craving a burger. While Boca has a wide range of products and flavors (and are available pretty much nationwide) they really aren't my favorite player in the meatless meat world. Morning Star Farms does a very good job (try their sesame chikn! yum) but my absolute fave meat free products come from Quorn. These are actually soy-free and in my opinion MUCH better as a meat substitute than tofu and other soy based products. Try their chik'n tenders in stir fries or for fajitas! Their ground beef substitute is the best I've found. I use it to make chili, spaghetti sauce and my grandma's Italian sausage bread. I've fooled more than a few meat eaters!

Vegetarian Taco Ring

Makes 4 servings

WW PointsPlus: 13

I doubled this recipe and froze half of the "chili" for another day since it calls for 1/2 cans of various things.

Ingredients

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 large onion, diced

2 gloves garlic, minced

1/2 can Rotel Tomatoes

1/2 can diced tomatoes

1/2 can Red Kidney Beans

1/4 cup salsa

1 packet taco seasoning mix (or chili powder, cumin, pepper and cayenne to taste)

6 oz ground beef substitute 

1 package (8 rolls) crescent rolls

4 oz pepperjack cheese, shredded (cheddar or monterrey jack can be substitued)

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the onions and saute until soft. Add garlic and continue cooking for 1 min. Add the beef substitute and quickly saute, mixing well. Rinse kidney beans and add to pan with tomatoes and salsa. Season with taco seasoning and let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until  thickened.

In the meantime, grease a round baking sheet (unless using stone) and lay out crescent rolls in a sun shape, overlapping each other. Place chili mixture on top of crescent "sun" and top with cheese reserving a small amount to top ring. Fold the points of the "sun" over to cover chili mixture and seal. There will be gaps in your ring where chili mixture is visible. Top ring with remaining cheese. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes or until crescent rolls are browned and cooked through.

I like to top this with fat free sour cream and more salsa.

NOTE: if you do not have a round baking sheet, this can be baked as a pizza. Press the crescent rolls into bottom of pan and top with meat mixture and cheese.