Three Bean Tacos

I was originally making a tasty three bean side dish when I started prepping this. I threw it into the slow cooker so it could cook while I was at work, but by the time I got home, I wasn't able to make anything to go with it. Then I remembered the leftover tortillas I stuck in the freezer from last week. Bingo!

It was designed to be 8 side dish servings I'd parcel out over the week, but this recipe makes a ton of tacos. You may want to scale it down unless you're feeding a small army or you have two teenage boys.

Three Bean Tacos
makes ~18 small tacos

What You'll Need:
1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 cup dried kidney beans
1 cup dried navy beans
2 1/2 cups water
1 small can tomato paste
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs oregano
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (careful not to put in too much)

The Process:
Soak all your beans overnight (I did them in separate pots) or fast cook them and let them sit for an hour the day of.  Cook down the onions in some olive oil until soft, then add the garlic. Add the water, tomato paste, sugar, and spices. Whisk until well combined and the tomato paste is incorporated.

Put the drained beans into the slow cooker. Pour the tomato/spice soup over them. Let cook on low for 4-6 hours until beans are tender. Heat up the taco shells in a skillet with a little oil for serving and add the taco fixings you prefer.

You can use canned beans instead, just drain the liquid off and rinse them a little. You'll have to reduce the cooking time or they'll become mushy.

From now on, I think I will be having my Meatless Monday meal on Sunday, so I can take the photos, do the write up, and have it out in time for Monday. When it comes in on Tuesday, I always feel somewhat disappointed that I couldn't get it done in time.