Our Fast Food – Bean and Cheese Burritos

We make big batches of these and freeze them for when we don’t feel like cooking or to travel with.

Unwrap them and after a few minutes in the microwave (make sure you get all the aluminium off first or your microwave may turn into Old Sparky!) we have a hot meal we can feel good about – these are real food.

To make ~16 burritos:

• Wash and soak 1.5 lbs of Pinto beans. Put a dozen cloves of garlic in the bottom of a pot, put the washed and soaked beans on top, cover 2-3″ deep with fresh water and cook until the beans are tender. Add 1 Tbsp of salt or to taste. Go easy, as the cheese and the wrap contribute a lot of salt later.
• Clean and chop:
  • 1 Lb onion
  • 6-8 Jalapeno peppers
• Saute onion / peppers in 3 Tbsp of olive oil until onions are clear
• Optional – add a can of drained corn
• Drain the Pinto beans, reserving the bean gravy and add to the onion / Jalapeno mix. Warm through and get out your potato masher. Mash on the beans until about half of them are broken up.
• For more heat, add some habanero powder if you have it.
• Add a couple handfuls of chopped fresh cilantro.

Have on hand:

• 16 whole grain burrito wraps. The whole grain adds a nice texture and nutty flavor. Skip the white flour version.
• 32 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese, grated (2 oz per burrito)

Now it’s time to prepare the burritos:

• Put a heavy pan on medium heat. Put in a burrito wrap and cover with 2 oz cheese.
• When the wrap is soft and the cheese is mostly melted, slide out of the pan onto a work surface and add ~1 cup of the bean mixture. Fold up.
• Wrap in aluminium foil. I put the shiny side out to maximize hold time outside the freezer.
• Freeze.
• Repeat until all the bean mixture is gone.

These are portable, fast and yummy. They are also pretty caloric – I figured ~620 calories each. To cut this down, use smaller wraps and less cheese. A smaller wrap will force you to use less bean mixture as well.

• 220 cal – 2 oz Monterey Jack
• 210 cal – 1 whole grain burrito wrap
• ~190 cal – bean mixture (varies by amount you use and what you put in it, obviously)
• 620 Grand Total

Get creative:

• Mix Jack / Cheddar cheese
• Sprinkle chopped red onions in before wrapping
• Add some cumin powder to the olive oil before sauteing. The aroma will be wonderful.
• Use a mixture of beans – Pintos / black beans / red beans / whatever