Roasted Chickpea Tacos

This is a recipe I have been wanting to share with you for a while, but due to all the internet issues I've been having, on top of all the regular business, it has just fallen by the wayside.  Too bad, 'cause it hasn't over here on the menu!  Fallen by the wayside that is.  We have already had it twice and probably will have it a third time soon.  It is just SO tasty!  I got the recipe from Peas and Thank You, a new blog I discovered recently.  "Mama Pea" as she calls herself has a saucy writing style that initially I wasn't too in to, but now I really enjoy.  She blogs about all things vegan and yummy and she is the one to credit for this recipe.  In fact, I think this is one of the few recipes that I haven't altered at all....except the lack of Daiya cheese on top.  We didn't do that.  Oh, and we added some of our own toppings.  And decreased the salt slightly.  Okay, so this recipe almost made it out without extra tampering.

Recipe adapted from Peas and Thank You.

Roasted Chickpea Tacos   ~   makes 8

2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp each, onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1/2-3/4 tsp salt (do as little as you can)

1 Tbsp lime juice

2 Tbsp water

1 14oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

8 crunchy taco shells

Taco Toppings: tomato, guacamole, lettuce, hummus, non-dairy cheese, Smoky Black Bean Dip

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine all seasonings and chickpeas in a bowl and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.  Do try and get the marinating in folks.  The second time I made them I forgot to allow time to marinate and the flavors were not as strong.

Dump chickpeas on a lightly oiled baking sheet or parchment paper and bake for 20-30 minutes until chickpeas are slightly crispy.  I didn't really think this got them to the "slightly crispy" point, rather they were no longer wet and swimming in marinade.  But it didn't matter cause they were still super tasty at this point.

Prepare taco shells according to package instructions, and then stuff shells with roasted chickpeas and toppings of choice!  

My mouth is seriously watering looking at this picture again.

These pictures were taken the first time when all we had was guac, tomatoes, and chickpeas (and lettuce which I forgot to put on for the pictures).  The next batch is where we added Smoky Black Bean Dip which I had just recently come up with, and that was a SUPER tasty addition.  I'll be posting that recipe very soon and link to it as soon as it's up.  Update 10/10/11 - Get your black bean dip love on here!

These tacos were out of this world!  Even my husband declared these were pretty darn tasty and has asked for them several times now. :)  Admittedly with crunchy taco shells involved, these don't fall on my SUPER healthy list of recipes, and if you are watching your calories/weight, you want to be careful to only consume 1 or 2 taco shells and then either eat the rest of your taco insides in a bowl, or better yet supplement with a large, tasty green salad.  :)  But whether you eat 1 or 4, these babies are Yum-MEE!

Mmm, all this taco talk makes me wish tonight was taco night tonight!  Enjoy your weekend folks!