“Beef” and Squash Tacos With Yellow Rice.

Well, friends, the time has come around again: We are in the middle of a Squash Boom.

I can’t say I’m too upset with this turn of events; I happen to like summer squash very much, and I look forward to seeing the varieties I’m going to receive weekly in my CSA box from Great Country Farms.  But still, after a week or two, serving plain old squash just isn’t going to cut it.  We’ve got to get more creative.

Tonight: Vegetarian “beef” and squash tacos!

This is actually an excellent pairing if you ask me.  The squash fills out the, well, taco filling very nicely and is an excellent complement to the burger crumbles.  I coated a skillet with nonstick cooking spray and threw one diced yellow squash in to cook for a few minutes.  Once it was slightly soft, I added a bag of Morningstar Farms burger crumbles and sprinkled in a generous helping of adobo seasoning for taste.  As the “beef” mixture cooked, I heated up the taco shells, which I’ve had in the freezer for a couple of months (try it – they keep beautifully!).  Unfortunately, the shells had clearly had a fall from grace – or at least a fall from the freezer shelf – once or twice, and as a result they were taco slices rather than whole shells.  That’s OK, though; we just made a salad out of the meal, using the shells as the base!

Soon, the rice was ready, and so was the beef-and-squash mixture.  The tacos had heated up nicely, so we put everything together!  First, we had our layer of taco shells, then a layer of rice, then the beef-and-squash mixture, then lettuce, tomato, sliced black olives, Daiya pepperjack shreds, sour cream, hot sauce – the works.  You could certainly add or subtract toppings based on your taste!

And the final result was magnificent!  LeeLee and I both loved how the squash and burger crumbles played off of one another, giving a complexity to both ingredients that neither one would have had by themselves.  The squash was tender yet firm, the beef teeming with the garlicky adobo seasoning – there wasn’t much left over, I can assure you!

I haven’t done much experimenting with the idea of squash in Mexican recipes,  but you can rest assured that after tonight’s results, I’m just getting warmed up!

:)