Veggie Burritos with Zucchini Guacamole

Hello September. I love you September. We are almost in my fav season of the entire year. Almost... It was still 100 degrees F at my house today but the end is in sight. Yay! If you are still in the trenches of the end of summer I got the perfect meal for ya. Keep reading. Its good. I promise.

 On warmer days or all summer long I often go for lighter dishes that require less heating up the kitchen you know like having a sandwich night. This burrito definitely fits the ideal and is a great use for leftover beans and rice from other yummy Mexican meals. 

Picture layers of crunchy & creamy guac with hints of citrus, fluffy brown rice and filling nutritious black beans, crisp lettuce, with smoky melted cheese wrapped up in a oversized tortilla wrap. Yum! It tastes so good you won't even care that its healthy. SO many fresh flavors and fun textures. 

But the real reason you should make this is because the zucchini, freshly and very finely diced, adds another flavor of freshness I have never had in guacamole before and actually never had it raw before. It makes this guacamole stunningly good. You don't taste it and say "oh I taste zucchini" but it does stop you in your tracks and say "wow that tastes bright and fresh". I love guacamole and I have had EVERYWHERE. Trust me. This might be the best I have ever had (ahem except the one I already have on this blog with bacon it in... okay I have a soft spot in my heart for yummy salty bacon). Seriously if you don't make the burrito you gotta try this guac with your next bag of chips, cut up veggies, tacos, quesadillas.... or just with a spoon? 

For a fun kid friendly variation you could even add some crunchy chips or fried corn tortillas cut into strips into the burrito. The veggie burrito idea comes from  Naturally Ella . I just edited it a bit because I lived in cali for 8-9 years and you can't make guac without a chili pepper. Its just the way it is. So I am passing it on with a few helpful touches. Check it out. 

Veggie Burritos w/ Zucchini Guac

cooking time + prep = about an hour*

*If using already cooked brown rice this time is shortened to a very quick 15 minutes!

Makes 2 large burritos 

(my kiddo was full with half of one with a handful of tortilla chips) 

Would be great with a piece of a corn on the cob

Ingredients:

• For the guac:
• 1 & 1/2 ripe avocados
• 3 Tbs finely diced red onion
• 1/4 cup minced cilantro
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4- 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbs lemon juice or half of a lemon juiced
• 2 Tbs orange juice or juice of half of an orange 
• 1/2 of a medium zucchini very finely diced (about 1 cup) 
• 1/2 of a poblano pepper (for mild) or half or whole jalapeño pepper with the seeds and membranes removed (for more heat) finely diced

• 
  
• For the burritos: 
•  2 large whole wheat flour tortillas or spinach ones* (as seen in the pic) 
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed if using canned
• 1/2- 3/4 cup shredded Smoked Cheddar or Smoked Jack cheese (I used 1/2 cup but was not very cheesy if you want a stronger cheese taste go for 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup shredded or very finely sliced ribbons of lettuce

optional: A diced up roma tomato and a handful of sprouts would be awesome additions I just didn't add in but will next time. 

*Whole wheat would be healthier but I was just using up what I had on hand... sadly the spinach ones weren't as healthy as I thought they would be, despite the name

To assemble:

1. Make the guacamole.  Add all the ingredients into a bowl starting with the avocado so you can use a spoon to get the avocado out and a potato masher or a fork to get it to the consistency you like - chunky or smoother. Taste as you go to get the right amount of salt and heat - chili's differ in heat so I always do half the amount the recipe calls for, taste, and then add the rest if I want to. 

Tip: You can always increase the heat but its very hard to subdue it afterward. If you do find its hotter than you thought add more sweet things like a 1/4 tsp of sugar or more citrus juice and serve it with sour cream. Dairy and Sugar are good counterparts to heat. 

2. Assemble the burritos. In any order but this worked well for me:
1/4 of guac on each one
1/2 of the beans
1/2 of the cheese cheese
1/2 of the rice 
1/2 of the lettuce

3. Roll up the burritos tucking in the ends, and heat them in a dry pan over medium heat until they warm up completely and you get some nice brown spots on your tortilla. That will help melt the cheese, bind everything together. This took about 5 minutes for me. 

4. Serve them with some tortilla chips, or corn on the cob, and/or salsa with the remaining delicious zucchini guacamole. 

5. Enjoy the rest of you day... and possibly eat dessert because not only did you have an amazingly tasty meal you ate incredibly healthy! 

Thanks for stopping by my Arizona kitchen

Stephanie

• 
  

Black Bean & Sharp Cheddar Burritos

If you like bean burritos like the kind from the store that you throw from the freezer into the microwave or the oven, or like taco bell's bean burritos - you will love these black bean and sharp cheddar burritos. They are quick, easy, super healthy (no preservatives or things you can't pronounce), and still is freezer friendly. So you can make a ton of them, and throw them in the freezer for when you get a craving, need a snack with some staying power (black beans = protein & fiber) or need a quick dinner because an adorable little 4 month old won't stop crying to cook anything else. Happens. 

I love sharp cheddar cheese - okay I admit I love most cheeses. But if you don't, grab another kind - any quick melting cheese will work here such as: mozzarella, Colby jack, Monterrey jack, pepper jack, medium cheddar, or mild cheddar. 

I made two batches one with white flour tortillas and one with whole wheat tortillas. I am trying to ease my family into eating all whole wheat, minimally processed foods - its a process. But use whatever you have or want to use. This recipe makes approx 10 burritos. 

Ingredients:

1 batch of homemade refried beans (click here)
6-8 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded (1 1/2 cups+)
10-12 soft taco sized tortillas whole wheat or white
*quart or gallon sized freezer bags if you want to freeze extras

Directions

1. Make the refried beans - takes only a few minutes
2. Put slightly less than 1/4 cup of beans in the center of each tortilla
3. Put a small handful of shredded cheese on top of each pile of beans
4. Fold up the tortillas
5. If freezing them put them on a cookie sheet for an hr or two to flash freeze them and then transfer them to freezer bags. If eating them right away, microwave them for a minute or heat them on the stove until the cheese is melted on the inside - only takes a few minutes. 

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, tortilla chips, or spanish style rice. Enjoy! 
From my kitchen to yours

Black Bean Veggie Tostada

Fresh tomatoes, green crisp lettuce, sweet corn, slightly spicy salsa, fragrant cilantro, crunchy tortilla... Yes! Another great Mexican inspired meal. Its fast, fun, and delicious. 

Black Bean Veggie Tostada 
(aka the 10 minute, kid friendly, healthy dinner)

I have made this several times throughout the years. I wish I could remember where I got the recipe from. It is fail proof. I promise. This works well anytime of the year. In the summer it can be a very light and refreshing meal perfect when you don't want to heat up your house. Or during the colder months its great because you can make it more hardy by changing up the veggies, and adding meat. Either way its a very family friendly meal that's easy! Just because Monday night football pizza night is over,  doesn't mean fun with food stops. Every once in a while you gotta have some laid back, good food that you can eat with your hands. Right? Right. Good. So grab several napkins you'll need them! Your eyes will enjoy all the pops of color and your taste buds will thank you.  It's not a great picture, but you get the idea.

Ingredients:

• 4 tortillas store bought or homemade 
• 1/2 cup of white, wild, or brown rice cooked (according to package directions)
• 1 cup of black beans, cooked (from a can or dried beans homemade)
• 1 cup frozen corn*, defrosted
• 3/4 cup - 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese ( Pepper Jack would taste good too)
• couple Tbs of your favorite kind of salsa 
• handful cilantro, chopped
• 1 or 2 small roma tomatoes (depending on your taste)
• 1 cup romaine lettuce, chopped into bite size pieces
• 1/2 red pepper, finely diced 
• Meat if so desired (this is a great use for leftover chicken or taco meat of any kind)
• sour cream or greek yogurt

*(in the summer months I use fresh grilled corn, and grilled or sautéed zucchini)



Directions:
1. If you have leftover rice to use - preheat that in the microwave if not cook some up. I used some wild rice in the dinner pictured above. 

2. Ditto with leftover black beans. If you don't have any leftovers to use up. Grab a can of black beans and use those... just be sure to drain and rinse well.

3. Prep all your veggies  and put on a plate or small bowls for easy tostada building. You could easily do this family style so everyone gets to do their own and pick whatever veggies they want to eat. 

4.  Preheat your oven to 350 and throw your taco shells directly in the oven on the rack and let them crisp up (takes only a 3-4 minutes) The firmer they get, the crunchier they will be, and easier to eat. This is also easily done on the bbq if its summer time and the idea of putting the oven on makes you cringe. 

5.  Pull the shells out and start building. Put your cheese down first so it can act as the glue to the other ingredients. I usually do it somewhat in this order... heavier stuff to lighter stuff. I aim for 1/4 cup of rice and 1/4 cup beans on each one. Starting with the meat if using, beans, rice, corn, salsa, tomatoes, lettuce red pepper, sour cream, cilantro, ect... anything you eat on a taco is great here. After all a tostada is just a messy flat taco right? 

6. Grab some napkins or paper towels and dig in :) 

Recipe makes 4 tostadas good for 2 or 3 people. My son can eat a whole one but he has a big appetite. For smaller kids it may be easier and more fun to use a circle cookie or biscuit cutter and cut a few smaller circles out of one tortillas. It would be easier for them hold and eat if you are doing the messy fun dinner like what we did. 

Now who said eating your veggies was hard.... 

Enjoy!

From my kitchen to yours!