Feliz Navidad!

Luckey's Lunch LOVES Mexican food! There is no getting around it! I will take every opportunity I can to try out a veggie-fied Mexican dish. This post consists of Black Bean Soft Tacos and Mexican Rice!

To start the dish out I heat some oil in a skillet and add the rice to brown. The rice takes about 45 minutes to complete and is the longest part, so I start this out right away!

While the rice is browning I add some salt and cumin powder. I let this keep going for about 10 minutes.

I then stir in some chopped onions and cook about 5 minutes more.

After the onion has been softened I add in tomato sauce and vegetable broth, bring it to a boil, cover and let it simmer for about 25 minutes, keeping the lid on the entire time.

As I am getting the rice started, I also prep the black bean soft tacos. As I usually like to do, I get all my spices and herbs together. This particular recipe uses chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, garlic powder, and freshly ground pepper. I also drain and rinse two cans of black beans, slice an avocado, and chop an onion.

I start out by cooking the onions and some minced garlic in my wok. I LOVE my wok! If you don't have one, I HIGHLY recommend it! It is completely versatile and works great when I need a large, deep skillet.

When the onions are soft, I add in everything else: black beans, a can of diced (undrained) tomatoes, a can of chopped green chilies, and my collection of spices and herbs.

Everything gets mixed together well and then cooked together for about 10 minutes. If it wasn't for the rice, this might be one of the fastest home cooked meals ever attempted (and it's tasty too!)

Once the beans are done, the rice is ready to go and I fluff it with a fork.

Onto a warmed tortilla the bean mixture goes - and I top it with some shredded cheese and avocado slices. If you are thinking about skipping the avocado - DON'T!!! This adds such a great soft and creamy texture to the taco, they wouldn't be as good without it! The Mexican rice also keeps well in the fridge and makes GREAT leftovers!

I can honestly say this is a meal Ronnie really likes. So much so that during dinner he'll make comments like "This is delicious!" and "MmmMMM!" If Ronnie likes it - you will too! Guaranteed!!!

So.... holidays, school, work, football season... Life has just been one big whirl of activities! We'll see what it allows me to come up with next!? (Maybe when would be more appropriate!)

Happy Holidays and have fun in the kitchen this season!

Some Like It HOT, (with a little bit of fungus on the side)

Oh. My. Gosh. Life has been a bit nonstop since I have started school back up... Hence why this is my first post in a couple of weeks. But, as promised, here I am with a Luckey's Lunch original, Jalapeno Melts. No, this is not your average healthy vegetarian sandwich, but it sure is tasty, and as you might of guessed from the name, this sandwich can pack some heat!

When we were in Florida earlier this year, we ate at a steak house that advertised $14.99 prime rib dinners on Thursdays only (ya know, we were sitting on the beach and spied a plane pulling a banner?). So, knowing my fiance, we were headed there that night. It actually ended up being this really fancy place, we were entirely underdressed, but how were we supposed to know that from a banner on the beach?! Anyway - the reason for my story was they had these burgundy mushrooms that were to-die-for! Wow! I wish I could eat some right now! So I have been craving these mushrooms ever since. I found a marinated mushroom recipe and decided to try it. Instead of serving them cold, I served them right away and they were tasty! Not as good as the ones in Florida... but an acceptable substitute!

To start out the mushrooms, I mix in a sauce pan red wine vinegar, olive oil, sliced onions, salt, parsley, dry mustard, brown sugar and garlic.

When the mixture has begun to boil, I add in petite button mushrooms. I let this go on low throughout the entire preparation of the meal. (About 25 minutes total.)

Now it's time to start the melts. I am making just two sandwiches here and to do that I need about 1/2 of a small onion sliced cooking in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil and minced garlic.





While the onions are caramelizing, I slice sour dough bread for the sandwiches. Sure, you could use any type, but the sour dough really is the way to go!!! I always have a hard time finding sliced sour dough at the grocery, so I usually just buy it from the bakery.

By this time, the onions for the melts are ready to come out of the skillet. I usually set them aside on a paper towel lined plate. Now it's time to start cooking the "burgers". When I want a "normal" burger taste, I ALWAYS go for these - Morning Star Farms Grillers Original (or the Grillers Prime, those are good too). Matt and I have, in the past, tricked traditional meat-eaters with these burgers. Not only do they have a very distinct meaty-taste, the texture is pretty right on as well.

So, into the skillet the burgers go! They are really simple to cook if you have never ventured in veggie-burger land before. Just flip them every few minutes until they are browned!

I take a quick peak at the mushrooms and they are looking good!!! A nice pleasant vinegary smell is starting to fill the room and I am okay with that!

Okay, now, as the burgers are going, I prep my bread. These are melts, so there is going to be some frying involved. I butter one side of the bread (that will be the outside) and spread mayo on the opposite. I stack the bread so it's easy to handle and doesn't smear butter or mayo all over the place. I also get out my flat skillet and warm it up for the melting time.

The assembly of the sandwiches is quite simple. Bread (butter side down), mayo, burger, pepperjack cheese, grilled onions, sliced jalapenos, mayo, bread (butter side up)!

Flipping these sandwiches takes a little practice and/or skill. I've made them so many times, its no big deal any more. (Ronnie's cheese and pickle only burger is on the left, the jalapeno melts are way too hot for him.)

The mushrooms are ready to go at this point, along with the melts. All there is to do now is plate up and eat!

MMMmmmMMMmmm.... yummy, gooey, spicy jalapeno melt!!! This is a truly quick and easy dinner. Try it on a busy week night for sure!

As I said before, these mushrooms were really good. I want to make them again and actually follow the direction by chilling them and then I'll probably add them to a salad or something.

Hopefully I can keep school work under control and the posts will be become normal again! Till next time friends!!!

After a long search, I finally found one!

I am embarrassing myself a bit here and admitting that I never had Indian food till I met my fiance. Yeah, I know - a Cincinnati native where there are Indian restaurants on every corner downtown and on the east side... But somehow I never got around to trying it.

For our first official date out (2 years and 9 months ago - crazy how time moves), Matt took me to Clifton's Ambar India on Ludlow and ever since then I have been completely hooked! Seriously, I feel like I could eat there at least once a week, but my pocketbook won't allow it as the prices aren't that cheap! So, not too long ago I thought I would try preparing Indian food myself. My first attempt went horribly wrong and it was a long time till I tried it again. Trying recipe after recipe, I could never get the authentic taste to happen in my own kitchen. Then I found this recipe: Spicy Vegan Potato Curry. Not only does this recipe give me that Indian flavor that I have grown to love, it is also SUPER easy (it's almost no prep - you only chop potatoes and onions), and SUPER tasty! I serve the curry over rice and have nan bread on the side for the extra sauce!!!

To start out, I cube about 5 potatoes and boil them in salted water for about 15 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, I heat some olive oil in my wok (woks: not just for Chinese food!) and add 1 medium chopped onion and a couple spoonfuls of minced garlic.

Here is something kind of different I like to do, when preparing a recipe that requires a lot of spices, I like to get them all measured and mixed together in a small dish so I am not reaching for different things in my cabinet while also trying to measure and stir. It just seems to make the job a lot easier for me when I am trying to do 7 different things at once. Here you'll find all the different spices that make this curry wonderful: cumin, cayenne, curry powder, garam masala, ginger, and salt. It really is a perfect combination for a homemade curry!

Once the onions are tender, I add the entire mix of spices. I let the spices cook together for about 5 minutes before I add the remaining ingredients. Be sure you keep the mixture moving in the pot, otherwise it starts to stick and burn, which is never good!

The first addition to the curry in an undrained can of diced tomatoes.

After the tomatoes have been mixed in, I add in a can of drained and rinsed garbanzo beans, and about 3/4th's cup of thawed and drained frozen peas. This is also about the time I drain my potatoes in the colander...

And then I dump those into the curry mix! Mmmm - potatoes! The kitchen is really starting to smell good as everything starts to cook together. Also - while all of this is going on, I am cooking some rice as well (didn't think a picture of cooked rice was necessary).

I mix everything quite well, and some of the soft potatoes start to mash a little - you want this! It helps make the curry have a nice creamy texture!

And now for the final touch - I add a 14 oz can of coconut milk. If you are planning on making this (and quite frankly you are silly if you don't) DO NOT, and I repeat DO NOT substitute regular milk. The coconut milk is key to the curry's texture and flavor. I let this all simmer for about 10 more minutes and then it is time for dinner!!!

As I stated before, I serve this curry over rice with some nan on the side. This particular recipe makes a HUGE batch. Enough for Matt and I to have dinner and lunch the next day, along with freezing some for later. I cannot be more serious when I say this dish is FABULOUS! If you are like me and have failed at Indian cuisine before - try this tonight and I promise it will be a win!!!

Next post, a truly original Luckey's Lunch sandwich - Jalapeno Melts!!! See ya soon! (And wish me luck! I started the new term at Cincinnati State yesterday!)

You Knew It Was Only a Matter of Time...

I love pizza! It's always a fast way to get dinner on the table, leftovers are tasty, and the possibilities are endless! When it comes to making pizzas, I am a bit of a rebel. Rarely do I make your standard tomato sauce and mozzarella pizza. I am always up for trying unusual and surprising toppings. So I was feeling like pizza last week, but I wasn't feeling particularly creative. I skimmed through allrecipes.com (go figure) and found this Caramelized Onion and Gorgonzola Pizza. To add some veggies to my meal, I paired the pizza with this Winter Fruit Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing.

I pretty much followed the recipes exactly, only making small changes here and there and I will note them as I go along. To start out, I slice one large sweet vidalia onion.

After heating a bit of olive oil in a warm skillet I add the entire onion to start the caramelizing process. This takes a total of about 20-25 minutes.

As the onions are doing their thing in the skillet, I have Ronnie spread the pizza crust out on a cookie sheet for a little pre-bake and I start to prepare the salads. To save some time, I did not make the homemade lemon poppyseed dressing the recipe calls for. I used bottled dressing instead - and I have to say it was still a mighty tasty salad!

I top some romaine lettuce with shredded Swiss cheese, cashews, and raisins (I didn't have any dried cranberries on hand - so I figured raisins are an okay substitute!) You'll notice Ronnie's salad in the back - he would never go for all this stuff on his salad (though he would totally eat all of it on it's own - it's a mixing thing possibly)... I guess I am lucky he eats salad at all!

This part isn't in the original recipe, but I felt like the pizza needed some type of base... So I brush a light coating of olive oil on the crust after it comes out of the "pre-baking" stage. I pre-bake my crust for about 6 minutes allowing for a crispier crust in the end!






Once the onions start to brown I add a little over 1 teaspoon of sugar and let the onions cook for a couple more minutes. When I first saw this part, I was like, WHAT!? Sugar? But seriously, it worked out great and I wouldn't skip this part!




I spread the now fully caramelized onions over my pizza crust... Notice Ronnie's corner: onion-free! I laugh with Matt all the time how as Ronnie gets older I am sure I'll be the talk as the mom who makes all the weird food in the neighborhood... Oh well! They don't know what they're missing!




Per some suggestions I read about in the review section of the recipe, I halved the gorgonzola cheese, only topping it with about 4.5 oz. Then I stick it in the oven for about 8 more minutes.

While the pizza is in the oven I chop my pear and apple and add it to the salad!

When the time is up I remove the pizza from the oven. The cheese is nice and melted, the crust is a perfect shade of brown and we are all getting hungry!

Topping the salad with the bottled poppyseed dressing and mixing it all together is my final step before we all dig in! What a tasty meal! Thoughts: The pizza really was fabulous! The taste was very unique BUT the next time I make this I will prepare it for like a party appetizer or snack by cutting it into smaller, easy to handle, squares. It just wasn't satisfying enough to be a meal-type pizza - but Matt and I enjoyed it a lot so I definitely want to make it again, just in a different setting. The salad was AWESOME! Even Matt, who doesn't normally like "fruity" salad or poppyseed dressing, really enjoyed it and asked me to make it again soon!

I start classes up again next week.... I have to be honest and say I am not 100% looking forward to it. I took a break from the early fall term and now I am spoiled again! BUT - we are going to Pittsburgh this weekend to watch Notre Dame (hopefully) kick some Panther butt! Should be a fun weekend! I am making a mock tuna salad for the tailgating. I am excited about that too!

My next post will be a spicy vegan potato curry I have been making for a while now. It is so good and easy, anyone can make curry with this recipe! Get ready for it!

Comfort Food For a Monday Night!

I am an avid list maker. I make grocery lists, menu lists for a week's worth of food, to-do lists, gift-shopping lists, if there is a list to be made - I am in the shadows making it (or out in the open sometimes - I'm crazy like that!) Anyway - wanting to make something Italian for dinner soon (because it's Ronnie's favorite and a sure way to make him eat up all of his dinner) while making my grocery list I couldn't decide on a lasagna or manicotti. Manicotti won after asking some people for their opinions and HERE WE GO: Manicotti comin' right at cha!

This manicotti is extremely simple and actually comes together fairly quickly. I paired the manicotti with a new garlic bread recipe I spied on allrecipes.com, Roasted Garlic Bread - and YUM-O, am I glad I did! To start the meal out, I cut the top halves off of 3 bulbs of garlic. Sprinkle them with a bit of olive oil, and just as the recipe says, stick them in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. This is also when I open the window in the kitchen - though it smells pretty good - roasting garlic can be a bit over-powering to sensitive noses! I then can move onto preparing the manicotti.

My filling for manicotti involves a pint of ricotta cheese, 2 cups of mozzarella, a handful of parmesan, an egg, half of a finely chopped red onion, garlic powder, basil, oregano, a bit of parsley, and a few twists from my black pepper mill. No need to add salt, the tomato sauce has plenty of it for the whole meal.

One thing I did not take a picture of, (because really, who wants another boring picture of pasta boiling), are the manicotti noodles. For this particular recipe, I only cook the manicotti noodles about halfway (5 minutes tops). This allows for a sturdier noodle when filling it with cheese, and the time in the oven afterwards is enough to cook the noodles all the way through - plus it's a time saver! Love those!

So - by now the manicotti noodles have been removed from the water and drained and we are ready to start stuffing!!! First things first, I cover the bottom of my 9X13 pan with half of my tomato sauce.

Who says "piping-bags" are just for pastries?!?! NOT ME! Using a big ziplock bag, I fill it with the cheese mixture, cut the corner off and fill my manicotti noodles with ease! Don't make the same mistake I have before by cutting the hole too big - remember the rule (and this is a GREAT rule that can be applied to a lot of different things) you can always take off more but you can never add it back once it's been cut! Anyway - if you cut the hole too big, it ends up taking almost just as long to fill because it gets messy. But if you cut the hole in the corner of the bag slightly smaller, it's really easy to stick it in the noodle - squeeze - and you are filled and ready for the next one! Pretty nifty huh?

I arrange all the noodles in the dish, cover them with the remaining sauce, and top with a bit more parmesan. By this time, the roasted garlic is ready to come out. So I swap the garlic for the manicotti in the oven for about 45 minutes.

I let the garlic sit and cool so it is easy to handle with my bare hands. This is exactly when Ronnie made his way into the kitchen, "mmMMmm - that smells delicious Mama" were his exact words. It really is hard to resist the smell of roasting garlic... too bad for Vampires. So, now that Ronnie likes the smells coming from the kitchen, he is ready and willing to help! We melt a stick of butter in the microwave and once it is done we simply squeeze the bulbs of garlic. The cloves easily plop out of the bulb into the butter and that's pretty nifty too!

Simply following the recipe - our garlic bread topping consists of a stick of melted butter, the 3 bulbs of roasted garlic, a handful of parmesan cheese, and some chopped parsley. We used a fork to mash the garlic cloves and mixed everything together.

A large loaf of french bread is cut into halves and we spread the garlic butter mixture over the two halves. We could already tell at this point that dinner was going to be good!

After washing a few dishes to help Matt out (I'm the cooker (for the most part), he's the dishwasher) the manicotti is ready to come out of the oven. I switch the broiler on and throw (okay - not literally) in the garlic bread.

Almost every time I cook - I learn a little something. Monday night was no exception! Next time I will lower the top rack so my edges don't get burnt by the broiler. It says 5 minutes and I kept a close eye on it and ended up taking it out a little early so I wouldn't totally ruin the bread. Regardless - obviously - it still turned out FANTASTIC!

Serve these up with a salad and you have a GREAT comfort food meal that would be hard not to please everyone! Really easy - a bit time consuming - but well worth it for sure!

I am thinking of switching my picture-provider-uploader-service-whatcha-ma-call-it. Currently I use photobucket - but lately service has been slow and my picture's don't always upload to blogger... Any suggestions? I was thinking of trying picasa?

Till next time! Have fun in the kitchen!!!