Mexican Dinner request...vegetarian Ideas

You can get tostada shells and make tostadas as well. I make these really good chix enchiladas with monterey jack cheese/cream cheese, black olives and green onions. They are really good. Those I make with green chile sauce BUT if it was me, I would just have tostada shells as an option.

Tostadas! Yum... we just had them last week, I know you said refried beans already... but I like to use a smaller soft shell, then put some veg. oil in a frying pan and fry both sides so it is cripy. Then spread the beans and add the regular taco type toppings. Don't know if she eats cheese... but Cheese enchiladas are always delicious!
(No we are not vegetarians).

Good Luck... as if teenage daughters arn't picky enough! :)

If you get refried beans just make sure that they are fat free or vegetarian. Most refried beans have lard in them. It bugs me! But so far fat free and obviously vegetarian ones do not. I love when people think they are being so nice and buy refried beans for me to eat when we have tacos, etc. then I see the package and know that it has lard in it. I have learned to just sigh and eat it anyway. But if people just knew to buy the fat free ones, etc. They taste exactly the same and cost the same. I don't see the problem! Oh well.... I love tacos though. I think that would probably be good enough, but maybe making a small plate of cheese enchiladas too?? I love cheese enchiladas. My family was having a huge get together tomorrow and having chicken enchiladas. I was going to make some cheese ones to bring for me. Or maybe even a couple cheap frozen bean and cheese burritos cooked with some enchilada sauce over them? Mexican food is usually pretty easy to make vegetarian. Its my favorite kind of food! I just leave the meat out of any recipe I make. My husband and kids never miss it. Even when I make food for my inlaws and all my husband's family, they all love it and never miss the meat (and end up asking for the recipe and making the vegetarian recipe themselves even though I tell them the version with meat also).

You could make a few bean enchiladas- using everything but the chicken mix.

Lentil Taco Filling - can be made in a crock pot

(keep the menu simple - tacos for everyone, but a veggie filling option) And obviously veggie stock would be a better idea than beef broth!

Hayburner's Lentil Tacos
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(see notes at end)

Ingredients

1 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced (I use 1/2 tsp. ready-minced)
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup dry red lentils, rinsed
1 Tbs. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
2-1/2 cups chicken broth (or beef broth) (you can use one can of Swanson's and it works great)
1 cup salsa (I use chi-chi's medium)
12 hard taco shells

Procedure:

In a large non-stick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin and oregano; cook and
stir for 1 minute.

Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Uncover; cook for
6-8 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Stir in salsa.

(heat up your taco shells while doing the last part of the above)

Spoon about 1/4 cup into each taco shell and top with your favorite taco fixin's.

We like shredded colby-jack and lettuce (i've also used torn-up spinach) This taco filling heats up really well in the microwave the
next day and is just as delicious as the first night.

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If you can't find red lentils, use green/brown ones and cook longer w/ more liquid.
I usually make this in the crock pot, with green lentils, using the amounts listed,
cooking on high until it's done....couple hours maybe?
When I do crock pot, I just dump everything in together at once.
I always make double and freeze 1/2
Add a little cayenne pepper if you like it spicy!
This makes great nacho topping too or base for taco salad too!

A tortilla with just cheese is delicious. My youngest has it that way every time we have tacos.

Enchiladas are perfect for vegetarians. I like black beans, brown rice, and fake hamburger. Morning Star Farms sells fake hamburger called "Recipe Crumbles". It's in a bag in the freezer aisle.

But really, don't worry about it too much. As long as people can avoid meat if they want to it's not a big deal. I've had plenty of dinners consisting of salad and a baked potato and I never resent it.

hey M......if you can get your hands on an enchanted broccoli forest cookbook, you could make zucchini and pepper enchiladas....i made them for a big dinner i was having and they are great...no complaints by any meat eater.....you can always just make the dinner how you would normally and leave a little bit of filling without chicken....saute a few veggies like peppers onions to put in the regular enchiladas and the person will probably feel accommodated....be sure to have rice and beans on hand (if you were going to do that anyway) but if you are interested in making a whole new recipe for all the masses....then do try the enchanted broccoli forest one....it it a total crowd pleaser!

A great salsa would be a suggestion, homemade is best: http://www.great-salsa.com/tomato-salsa-recipe.html#Tomat...
Other great ideas for Mexican food here: http://www.great-salsa.com/Mexican_Food_Recipes_Directory...
My vegan friend loves to eat an Mexican restaurants! He can eat almost free!

Mexican dinner.....yummy! I went to a house party one night to play cards with some friends and they made taco pizza. What they did is made pizza crust added the cheese and baked. Then they cut the cheese crust and then had all the taco helpings in bowls so you could dress your own pizza. They had meat, tomatoe, onion, salsa, what ever a person's heart wanted, they had. it was very good and each person could build their own!

add a "side dish" pan of mexican rice; have soft shells available that she could make herself a cheese (and/or bean) quesadilla.

Mexican is easy to change to vegetarian. Like you said something with refried beans, if she likes those. Why not let her make her own veggie taco. You have everything she would need. Shells, lettuce, tomatoes, beans, maybe avocado,or guacomole. Have fun.

I saw that someone mentioned the morningstar farms veggie crumbles but they also make a chicken substitute that would work in enchiladas. You could also do spinach and cheese enchiladas. There are many options. The chicken substitute that I mentioned is really really tasty.

just make some taco "meat" out of Boca meat. then she can eat the same thing as the other girls just the vegetarian version of it. I think vegetarian refried beans are always a great addition to tacos.. plus you can make cheese enchiladas instead of chicken.

We often entertain groups of teens and choose to make the meal itself a major part of the entertainment. Teens love "make it yourself" meals - they like options, they like to choose, they like to show others their "special way" to make things and they enjoy having control over what goes into what they eat.

The 'Taco Bar' is one of the easiest, most economical and their favorite (well, next to the "Dessert Sundae Bar"). I set out plates, then tortillas and hard taco shells, then bean dip (1 can refried beans topped with 1 cup salsa, heated through in the microwave, then topped with shredded cheese and heated 'til cheese is melted), taco meat (taco seasoned hamburger &/or shredded chicken or turkey), shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, chunky salsa (takes the place of expensive chopped tomatoes), chopped green onion, chopped back olives, sour cream, taco sauce, tortilla chips and finally a pan of enchiladas or burritos. Guests have complete control over what goes into their tacos and whether or not they choose to eat the enchiladas. (With a smaller group I often set up the quesadialla maker on another area of the counter and let them use those same 'fixin's' to make quesadiallas. I say with a smaller group, because that can sometimes become a bottleneck.)

Some choose to use the bean dip for their chips. Some choose to make bean burritos. It's up to them and it's always a hit! I strongly suggest that you not make any specific vegetarian dish. Every time I have gone to the extra work to make something special for just one of the guests, I have found that they would rather just create their own from the choices that I would have put out anyway and I almost always end up with that 'special dish' left over.

I make meatless enchiladas. They are called Four-Bean Enchiladas:
16-6inch tortillas, 1-15 1/2 oz can red kidney beans, 1-15 oz. can of garbonza beans, 1-15 oz. can of great northern or Navy beans, 1-15 oz. can of pinto beans, all drained and rinsed. 1-11 oz, can condensed cheese or nacho cheese soup, 1-8 oz, can low sodium or regular tomato sauce, 1# hamburger, sliced pitted ripe olives, 1-1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack chees or cheddar cheese (6 oz.), green pepper strips (optional). Heat tortillas; wrap in foil and heat in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, or till warm. For filling: combine beans, condensed soup, Spoon abour 1/3 c. filling onto one end of each tortilla, roll and splace with seam side down in 9X13 cake pan. In a bowl, stir together enchilada sauce and tomato sauce, poor over enchiladas. Cover with foil and bake in 350 degree oven till hot, allowing 30minutes for cake pan. Remove foil, sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered for another 5 minutes or till cheese is melted. Top with olives and green peppers, if desired. They are delicious. I may have forgotten to add a 10 oz. can of enchilada sauce at the top. Good luck and good eating.

You could do a nice guacamole and some spanish rice or cilantro lime rice.
I was a vegetarian for 9 years (I eat meat now) and all the toppings you listed were what I put in a taco! You don't need to be super creative to meet her needs. Vegetarian refried beans, guacamole and the rice would be a nice addition.
Also, meatless enchiladas are super easy to make!

You can purchase packets of spanish rice but I love to make cilantro lime rice.
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups water
cook as directed,
Add:
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
3 Tablespoons lime juice
you can adjust lime juice to taste

Have a fun party!

I have that same suggestion as Tiffany. You can add a little taco sauce to those beans to make them a little more spreadable. Make sure that you also have enough of it also because a lot of kid will put refried beans on their tacos right along with their meat toppings.

I was a vegetarian for 5 years and I still don't eat red meat. First let me tell you that she is used to or will be used to making due with what is available. That being said it is really nice of you to make accomodations. I agree with some of the other postings, guac, black beans, veggie refried beans and or cheese enchiladas would all be great things to have on hand. And, a lot of people (like my mom at first) don't understand that if it has chicken or beef stock in it, it is NOT vegetarian. Same thing for stuff that was cooked with meat. My mom used to try to make spaghetti sauce with meat in it and just skim "non meat" stuff off the top. I started cooking for myself pretty young. :) Have a great party!!

Hi M.
You may already know this but make sure you buy vegitarian refried beans most normal refried beans have some animal fat in them.

I've been Vegan.. (doesn't eat meat or any products of animals) for the longest time. So is my entire family for that matter.

When we have Taco night we have several options. My favorite is whole black beans with Mexican or Spanish rice and all the usual fixings that come with taco night. That way they get alot of fiber, nutrients and protein with the black beans.

Another option is the morningstar or boca fake chicken or hamburger meat. It's fairly cheap. Usually about 3 bucks a bag and it's equal to about what would be a pound of hamburger. But that tastes just like meat. Most people can't tell the difference so if your vegetarian hates even the taste of meat, regardless if it's fake that isn't the way to go.

Aside from that if you are a more zealous you could do tofu. You would have to get all the water out of it first. Usually by wrapping it in paper towels and putting something heavy on it for a few hours. Then marinate it. Then broil it in the oven. Or you could buy seitan which can be used just like chicken and just prepare it and put it in their taco's or enchilidas.

So you have easy, easier and harder... Just depends on what you want but all of those should let her feel included and not different than the rest of the girls.

Tostadas are good and you already have the fixings to top it off.

Great idea with the enchiladas and tacos...cannot go wrong there. I would just make 1 small pan of cheese enchiladas (8x8 pan). Do the exact same as the other ench. but omit the meat. This makes it easier on you and offers a small pan so she doesn't feel left out if she wants that. Good luck, have fun!