Easy Weeknight Black Bean Tacos with Spiced Dressing

For my whole life, my mom has been a great cook.  I was lucky enough to have her throughout school as a homemaker who shuttled me around and made sure I got to eat dinner every night before or after whatever lesson or rehearsal it was I had that night.

Of course, when a family has kids who have schedules like this, there is a certain amount of “do what works” that comes out when making dinner.  That is how the “regulars” are born.  The recipe below became one of our family’s regulars during high school, but it is flavorful enough to survive throughout all these years.  Today, it is one of my “regulars,” easy enough to be quickly made and consumed on a busy work night, but fun and interesting enough to have some friends over for a movie or game night.  It even occurred to me to use this recipe on a Meatless Monday since it’s veggie based, but there’s nothing stopping us from putting it back in the rotation at some point.  It’s that good.

The crown jewel of this recipe is the dressing on the salad.  It’s what lends all the flavor to this otherwise simple meal.

For the Dressing:

1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar

1 Large Clove Garlic

1 Teaspoon Chili Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Cumin

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Put all ingredients in a jar and shake, or a bowl and whisk.

For the Tacos:

1 Package Corn Tortillas

1 Can Black Beans – Heated

1 Head of Red Leaf Lettuce

1 Tomato

1 Red Pepper

3 Green Onions (Optional)

1 Avocado

All the fixings for Tacos you like:  Cheese, sour cream, salsa and guacamole

Put all the ingredients together over the tortillas and serve.  Happy Cooking!!!