You guys already know that I'm a pretty die-hard foodie...especially when it comes to holidays. One of my favorite things about holidays is making delicious vegan food: for myself, for my family, for my friends, and heck...for my puppy! (Candy cane dog biscuits are gonna be a thing in my household this Christmas...I'll share the recipe, don't worry! :) ) However, when said holiday happens to be a FOOD HOLIDAY like today (HELLOOOOOO #NATIONALGRILLEDCHEESEDAY!), the little girl that still lives inside me screams even louder than she does on regular holidays. I mean, what's better than AN ENTIRE DAY DEDICATED TO ONE FOOD...especially when that food just so happens to be a GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH. With that said, let's backtrack a little bit. I'm a huge food-holiday lover...including the WEEKLY food holidays: Meatless Monday, Waffle Wednesday, Pancake Sunday, and the star of today's recipe inspo: TACO TUESDAY. I was trying to think of a creative way to combine these two food holidays into one, and thus, it seemed I had two options. Option 1: taco grilled cheese. Think crispy bread slathered with homemade guac and stuffed to the brim with all my fave taco topping goodness. Tempting, but BORING. Everyone does that. (Although this recipe looks pretty darn tasty when swapped with vegan "meat" and cheeze!) That brings us to option 2: Grilled cheese tacos. WHAT?! Uh-huh. My first thought was, "HOW?!" (This might have been your first thought too...!) I mean, think about it: a grilled cheese is delicious, gooey, melty cheese inside two slices of bread (duh...). How exactly can you turn that into tacos without just changing the shape of the grilled cheese sandwich?! Ah-ha...now we're getting somewhere!
Behold, my friends, my original creation...the first recipe of it's kind, straight outta my crazy head: The Fit Vegan Ginger's Grilled Cheeze Tacos. Delicious toasty bread cubes inside perfectly crispy romaine lettuce leaves and slathered in my sinlessly gooey and delicious cheeze sauce. And because a grilles cheese isn't complete without a bowl of tomato soup, I've included the recipe for my luscious Summery Tomato and Sweet Garlic Soup! This is such a unique and delicious spin on an old-time foodie fave, and it's a perfect meal for a warm spring day like today! The lettuce "taco shells" in place of bread give it a nice and light feel, while the slightly sweet tomato garlic soup adds a nice palate cleanser to the richness of the cheeze. Convinced?! Mission accomplished. Enjoy, fitties!
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| Grilled Cheeze Tacos and Summery Tomato and Sweet Garlic Soup. |
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| THAT CHEEEEEEEEEZE. |
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| Crispy, crunchy, cheesy, healthy...all in one. So good. |
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| Summery Tomato and Sweet Garlic Soup. |
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| Thick and creamy goodness. |
Grilled Cheeze Tacos with Summery Tomato and Sweet Garlic Soup. Vegan, Gluten-free. Serves one.
Ingredients
Grilled Cheeze Tacos
1. 4 large romaine lettuce leaves, washed and dried
2. Two slices vegan bread of choice, cubed
3. One recipe "Basic Cheeze Sauce" (see this post!)
4. Chopped parsley, for garnish
Summery Tomato and Sweet Garlic Soup
1. 1 cup canned tomato sauce
2. 1 cup plant-based milk of choice (I used cashew, but soy would be BOMB)
3. Salt, to taste
4. 1/2 small clove garlic, grated (less if you're not that into garlic's spiciness)
5. 1/4 tsp onion powder
6. Less than 1/8 tsp stevia or sweetener of choice
7. Chopped herbs of choice, for garnish (I used parsley, but chives would be great too!)
Method
1. Preheat oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Place bread cubes on parchment (you cold spray with coconut oil cooking spray, if desired) and bake until crispy, about 15-25 minutes, flipping halfway through.
2. Remove bread cubes from oven and let cool 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, fill lettuce leaves with bread cubes and set aside.
3. Combine all ingredients for soup in your vitamix or high-speed blender and blend until smooth, starting on low speed and working up to high. Pour into small bowl and chill until ready to serve.
4. Prepare cheeze sauce according to recipe instructions. Drizzle cheeze over tacos and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with chilled tomato soup and a side salad.
