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!