Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Make Your Own Bean Burritos

Save some coin and yourself from processed food and make your own burritos. It's rather easy and fun especially if you have help. Then you can get an assembly line going - fast, simple and so much better than store bought! I like to make these and freeze them. When I need food fast I just reach into the freezer and heat up a burrito. It's easier than you'd think. This is a very basic bean mixture. I like to add some greenery if I have it: grated zucchini and fresh spinach are nice to add to the beans after you've mashed them up. Carrots would be good too – just add them when you sauté the onions and garlic.

Ingredients
1 cup pinto beans, soaked overnight
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2 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
1/4 cup salsa
2 to 4 TB of water or broth
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flour tortillas, room temperature so they come apart and don't stick together!
salsa
vegan cheese, sliced or grated

Directions
Pick through beans and discard any rocks or "funny looking" beans. Put in large pan, cover in water and soak overnight. Drain soaking water, add fresh water to cover about 2 inches over the beans and cook beans until very soft. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet, add onions and garlic and saute until soft. Add beans and mash them up. Add the spices and salsa and a bit of water or broth to thin it just a bit while you cook up the beans. Cook until they are thick and "burrito consistency."

Assemble Burritos
1) Lay down a piece of Saran Wrap and place tortilla on top of it.

2) Add about 1/4 cup of bean mixture to bottom half of tortilla

3) Add a couple pieces of cheese and salsa to taste

4) Fold tortilla UP over the beans; then fold in the SIDES;
then finish rolling up the burrito.

Finally wrap the burrito in plastic wrap and place in freezer bag.

One batch usually makes around 7-8 burritos depending in the size of tortilla and how much bean mixture you put in each burrito. My own personal burritos are rather small. I sue the small flour tortillas because I prefer less tortilla. You could even add some cooked Spanish rice into the bean mixture and make even more burritos.

3 comments:

  1. I used to do this for my kids! It is a great thing to have in the freezer! I wonder how my burritos using my flatbreads would hold up in the freezer? Thanks for reminding me about this.. I'm soo going to try it.

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  2. I'm sure your burritos using flatbreads will turn out great – your food always looks so delicious. You have such great ideas!

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  3. I've not thought about freezing them. I make huge batches of beans in my pressure cooker, so this would be a good way to prepare heat 'n eat meals in advance. I'll add the coriander powder next time; have not tried that.

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