Butler Foods have come out with a new product (Sam’s Taco Crumbles) as of this writing and I was eager to try it.  It is a chipotle soy “meat” that comes in a sealed ziploc style bag.  One bag provides enough cooked crumbles for tacos for 4-5 people (and you will probably have some left overs).

You simply take the bag, open it, add in 1 and 3/4 cup of warm water and 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (oil can be mitted for a low oil diet).  Let it soak for a minimum of 8-10 minutes and gently mixing the bag by turning and gently shaking.  Note.. make sure the end is resealed!

Then in a cast iron skillet, add a small amount of oil (or water for a low oil diet) to prevent sticking and turn up the heat.  Add the Taco Crumbles.  You can also add in some chopped onion, garlic, green peppers, whatever you like in your tacos.

When you start to get a crisp and browning, the crumbles are ready.

I like using white corn tortillas, either street taco size (small, about 4″ diameter) or regular taco sized (about 6″ diameter).  The next step depends on how you like your tacos and how healthy you want the dinner.  Either fry the tortillas in a small skillet in a layer of oil and let dry on paper towels; or you can heat the tortillas in between damp paper towels in the microwave to get moisture into the tortillas and warm them up.

I place the crumbles, the tortillas, and various fillings on the table and let people assemble them how they want.

Fillings:

• Sliced avocado
• Guacamole (ripe avocado, diced onion and tomato, mashed garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste)
• Shredded lettuce
• Diced onion
• Diced tomato
• Sliced radish
• Salsas

Note that the Crumbles would work well as a filling for a rolled taco, burrito… as well as a topping for a salad.