Colorful Sweet Potato and Bean Tacos

One of my favorite types of food is Mexican food.  I literally can never get enough of Mexican flavors!  Usually I used to love chicken fajitas or arroz con pollo, but since changing to a nutritarian diet starting over a year ago, I started loving veggie tacos, burritos, and cheese-less enchiladas.  Today while looking through Pinterest (find me here), I found the most brilliant idea for making hard shell tacos at home.  Here is the link.  And here are my yummy sweet potato and bean tacos:

Sweet Potato and Bean Tacos:
Ingredients:

Soft taco shells

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 can beans, drained and rinsed (I used white beans)

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 c frozen yellow corn

11-2 red bell peppers, diced

1/2 c chopped tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes)

2 t chili powder

1/2 t cumin

1/2 t paprika

1/4 t saffron

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1 small bunch kale leaves, stems removed and thinly chopped

chopped green onion

Directions:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a large skillet, water saute the red onion and minced garlic for 3-5 minutes.  Add the sweet potatoes and saute for an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Then, mix the spices (chili powder, cumin, paprika, saffron, and cayenne pepper) in 1/2 c of water, and add to the skillet.  Bring to a simmer, and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the corn, chopped peppers, and beans of your choice.  Stir and allow to simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender, but not mushy.  In a small food processor, process the chopped tomatoes until minced and creamy.  Mix into the bean and potato mixture and turn heat off.  Allow to cool.  In the meantime, while the filling is cooking, steam the taco shells in the microwave by wrapping them in a damp cloth or paper towel and microwaving for 30 seconds.  Place in oven on open rack stretched between two wires.  Allow to bake for 7-10 minutes, or until crispy.  For the kale, place it in a small bowl with a small amount of water at the bottom and microwave for 30 seconds.  When the taco shells are done, fill each with the bean and potato veggie mixture, and top off with the lightly steamed kale and chopped green beans.  Add salsa, hot sauce, or guacamole if you prefer.  Have napkins at the ready and enjoy!

Amy's Notes:  This was such a delicious and filling dinner, I can't wait to use the leftovers in the next few days!  In this recipe I used white beans... because I didn't check my pantry for black beans before I started the recipe.  All the same, the beans tasted great and took on the same beautiful yellow color as the rest of the dish.  So, use whatever beans you prefer for this recipe.  The taco shells I used were soft corn and whole wheat ones, but you can use any shells that you prefer.

For those interested in a chance to win The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant Based Nutiriton, check out Vegan Planet at this post.  Hope you have a great rest of the weekend!