Mexican restaurants are full of vegan options these days, but eating out isn't always friendly on the wallet. When trying to stick to a budget, why not whip up a fiesta in your kitchen instead?

Spicy Tofu Taco Salads

If you've been a long-time reader, you might realize that I have a soft spot for Mexican meals that can be made at home:

•Roasted Veggie and 'Chicken' Tacos

•'Chicken' and Mushroom Quesadillas

•Roasted Chili and Corn Tamales

•Black Beans With Mexican Beer

•Seasoned Refried Beans

•Tomatillo Salsa

But until now, I haven't featured my favorite "go to" Mexican meal—the taco salad.

One of the easiest versions of the taco salad is cooking veggie crumbles in a packet of store-bought taco seasoning (which usually costs less than a buck), then piling it high onto a bed of lettuce, tomato, salsa, and your other favorite toppings. You can keep it cheap by purchasing vegetables that are in season and adding inexpensive refried or black beans.

Another, less salty option is using pan-fried spicy tofu in place of the crumbles. Sprinkling a blend of cayenne, chipotle, and cumin onto the tofu while cooking will help sear their flavor into the dish, and to balance out the heat add a dollop of guacamole. Enjoy!

Polenta is a creamy cornmeal dish used as a base for savory recipes in several countries around the world. Given our affinity for grilling and barbecue here in the U.S., of course we found a way to put polenta on the grill too.

Grilled Leek Polenta

The process is fairly simple—prepare polenta as you normally would, but make it just a little thicker than usual, chill the mixture until it becomes firm, then slice it up, oil it up, and throw it on a grill for just a few minutes.

The recipe below is for leek polenta made with a rich vegetable broth and vegan margarine. It can be enjoyed on its own, beside a hearty stew, or topped with a creamy sauce that will complement the crunchy exterior. Play around with the combinations and enjoy!

Grilled Leek Polenta

2 Tbsp. vegan margarine
3 large leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 cup water
2 cups vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 cup coarse cornmeal
Salt and pepper, to taste
Oil

•Melt 1 Tbsp. of the margarine in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the leeks. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.

•Add the water, broth, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal.

•Reduce the heat and cook, stirring often and adding water as needed, for 30 minutes, or until thick.

•Discard the bay leaf and stir in the remaining 1 Tbsp. of margarine. Season with the salt and pepper.

•Brush an 11x7x2-inch dish with oil. Spread the polenta in the dish. Cool completely. (Can be made a day ahead. Just cover and chill.)

•Prepare the barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush the grill with oil. Cut the polenta into 12 squares or triangles. Brush both sides with oil. Place on the grill and cover. Grill until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings

At a recent PETA potluck, the spread served up by my coworkers was impressive. I made mashed potatoes, Christine made Creamy "Chicken" Casserole, Emily and Patricia cheated by ordering Chinese take-out, and few people brought fruit platters and chips and dip, but the recipes that really outshined all the others were the desserts.

The problem, however, with attending a potluck is that when you ask your coworkers, "Can you give me the recipe?" the answer is often, "It's on page 180 of this book" or "I sort of combined this recipe I read about with another one my grandmother taught me when I was 10" or "Recipe? Ha!"

Getting a recipe out of people can be like pulling teeth, but through a bit of back and forth, I was finally able to compile a recipe for the delicious Horchata Cupcakes that Shawna made for the potluck and that are currently making mouths water on PETA's Facebook page. It's a combination of the vanilla cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and the nonvegan horchata cupcakes from Cupcake Bakeshop.

Here's a look at a few delicious vegan desserts served at the potluck, and the recipe for the cupcakes is below. Enjoy!

Horchata Cupcakes

Scones from Vegan Brunch

Brownies made from a mix

The funny thing about creamed corn is that, well, it doesn't have to contain cream. The store-bought canned varieties are almost always vegan because they use the "milk" from the cob and the liquid held inside the corn kernels to achieve a creamy consistency. Many homemade recipes do call for dairy products, but they can easily be replaced with nondairy ingredients to make vegan creamed corn.

Creamed Corn

The recipe below is a very simple take on the corn dish that is popular in the South and Midwest, but you can add additional herbs and spices too. Try adding nutmeg, rosemary, or even a sprinkling of soy cheese before serving.

You may remember that back in June I asked for your help finding the best faux chicken sandwiches in North America. We read through your suggestions and taste-tested as much faux-chicken as we could get our hands on, and we've finally tallied the results in our quest to name some of the best mock meats on restaurant menus around the country.

And the Top 10 Faux-Chicken Sandwiches in the U.S. are ...

1. Green New American Vegetarian, Tempe, Arizona: The Secret BBQ Chicken Sandwich features mock chicken topped with caramelized onions and peppers slathered in espresso BBQ sauce. The sandwich is also served with vegan mayo and your choice of thyme fries, curry pasta salad, tahini coleslaw, or fresh fruit.

2. Govinda's Gourmet Vegetarian, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philly's most famous sandwich, but with a twist! The Vegan Philly Chicken Cheese Steak has soy chicken and rainbow peppers grilled in olive oil and topped with soy cheese. The sandwich is served on a sesame seed roll, a whole wheat roll, or a wrap.

3. Veggie Grill, Orange County, California: This SoCal location offers a Bayou Chickin' Sandwich, featuring veggie chicken that is lightly blackened with Cajun spices, dressed with lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado, and spicy vegan mayo on a wheat bun, and served with a side of red cabbage slaw.

4. Native Foods, Southern California: Native Foods is known for its interestingly named menu items, and the Chicken Run Ranch Burger is no exception. The sandwich features crispy battered "save the chicken," vegan ranch dressing, lettuce, carrots, and onion served on an organic wheat and sprouted brown rice ciabatta roll.

5. Red Bamboo, New York City: The Chicken Parmesan Hero at one of NYC's many vegetarian eateries takes fifth place with a sandwich made from breaded soy chicken with vegan mozzarella cheese, smothered in sweet basil marinara sauce and served on Italian bread.

6. Pizza Lucé, Minneapolis: Pizza Lucé's Mock Chicken Dijon—a mock-chicken patty seasoned with Dijon mustard and topped with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and banana peppers served on a toasted bun—puts Minneapolis on the list in sixth place.

7. VegiTerranean, Akron, Ohio: Chrissie Hynde's restaurant comes in at number seven for the Grilled Gardein Bruschetta Pomodoro Panini. The sandwich comes with balsamic basil marinated tomatoes and soy mozzarella and is accompanied by a grilled vegetable orzo salad.

8. Foodswings, Brooklyn, New York: Foodswings' No Chicken Caesar Club is made with grilled mock chicken, crisp romaine lettuce, tomato, black olives, and vegan Caesar dressing and is served on warm Italian bread.

9. Vertical Diner, Salt Lake City, Utah: The Breaded Chicken Sandwich is served on French bread, 7-grain bread, or a tortilla wrap and comes with lettuce, tomato, onion, and Vertical Sauce, with a choice of tortilla chips or carrot sticks.

10. Red Dog Saloon, Norfolk, Virginia: Red Dog serves a sandwich made with fried Chickette served on a roll with lettuce, tomato, and chips.

Veggie fajitas in many Mexican restaurants in the U.S. are prepared in a similar way. They almost always include bell peppers and onions—often mushrooms too—and they're sautéed until soft, then hit with a splash of soy sauce and some seasonings.

Fajita Tacos

The fajita seasonings may vary, but they typically include a touch of cumin and some type of chili seasoning—for example, chipotle, cayenne, or a blend. Surprisingly, cumin isn't a spice that's commonly used in Mexican cuisine; it's an American addition to Mexican-inspired recipes.

To balance the heat of the chili seasoning, I like to top my fajita tacos with diced tomatoes instead of salsa. This prevents any additional spice from sneaking onto my plate. What can I say? Sometimes I just can't handle the heat.

Enjoy!

Turn your lunchbox into a "brunchbox" by packing a sandwich made with fluffy biscuits. Whether you're preparing these for your child's lunch or your own, the best part is that you can sneak in added nutrition by replacing white flour with whole wheat flour.

Lunchbox Biscuits

Lunchbox biscuits can be used to make almost any type of sandwich—for instance, a faux chicken biscuit (as seen here), a PBB&J (peanut butter, biscuit, and jelly), or an "egg" biscuit with pan-fried tofu used in place of eggs.

Make a batch of lunchbox biscuits on a lazy Sunday afternoon and you'll have them ready for days. Enjoy!

Banana s'mores just might be the easiest dessert you'll ever make. All it takes is store-bought vegan graham crackers and a vegan chocolate bar heated in the microwave, then you add slices of fresh banana to the sandwich—that's it!

Easy Banana S'mores

Not only is this version of s'mores easy (maybe a little too easy—I ate three in one sitting), it's also healthier than the traditional recipe and vegan-friendly. By replacing marshmallows—which are one of the components of a typical s'more—with bananas, you're kicking the dessert up a notch by adding vitamins and minerals and eliminating animal products.

I'm not sure how well bananas will hold up over a campfire, so I recommend making this an indoor-only treat. Enjoy!