TVP Tacos

Textured Vegetable Protein = TVP= meat substitute

We recently ordered a variety of TVP products from Shelf Reliance - taco, sausage, beef, ham and chicken. Over the next few weeks I plan on trying them all. Today's choice: Taco. Right now a #10 can of Taco TVP is on sale for $10.44. A case of 6 is $59.53. Each can supposedly has 40 servings (10 cups dry TVP).

It was simple to make - pour 1 1/4 cup boiling water over 1 cup TVP - let sit for 10 minutes. That's all. That made enough taco "meat" for 9 tacos, and one taco salad. Fairly close to 1 lb. of hamburger. It also meant that dinner was ready in 10 minutes. It usually takes me 10 minutes to defrost my meat, then another 10 to 20 to cook and season it.

Verdict:

Not bad - the boys and Steve wolfed it right down.

• Did it taste like taco meat? Close enough.
• How was the texture? It was a little softer than ground beef - but not mushy.
• Will we use this again? Yes. While not quite the same as meat, it worked well in this application - and was a lot easier and less messy to prepare than ground beef.
• Overall I'm pleased to add this to our food storage.
  

I'm thinking of trying the sausage next week - working it into black beans and rice. We'll see.