HealthyEatsGirl: burrito

Friday, September 2

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

Friday, April 12

Corned Beef Salsa Verde Skillet Burritos

So, even though I am constantly trying new recipes, on average 3-4 a week for the last 2+ years, I still find things I haven't ever made, like corned beef. This year on St. Patrick's Day was the first time I had cooked anything with corned beef. I had no idea what I was missing! I was SO amazed how tender and awesome the meat became that I went out and bought more. Hahaha good thing there is a plethora of recipes online that helped me use it up. Then it happened. I had just enough leftover meat to not want to throw it away, but not enough to really make it into a meal or so I thought. I was thinking up ways to stretch my just barely 1 & 1/2 cups of delish corned beef when my son asked me if we could have tacos... Thank you sweet son of mine! So here's my take on Corned Beef Burritos... Try it next March when you find yourself with leftover corned beef. Proof that almost any food if done with some imagination can be "mexican" style. It was amazing. The salsa verde is light enough it doesn't overwhelm like a tomato salsa would've....Corned Beef in Mexican food... sure why not.

My son's plate... no toppings for him instead i put them on the side.
All he wanted was salsa to dip things into anyways.

Serves 3 or 4 people

1- 2 Burritos each

Ingredients:

1 cup of water

1/2 cup of salsa verde medium (I used La Victoria - just because I knew it wasn't too spicy for my kiddo)

1 green pepper, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 Tbs taco seasoning homemade or store bought

1 & 1/2 cups of cooked and shredded corned beef

1 package soft taco size tortillas

1 cup or more your favorite shredded cheese ( I used sharp cheddar)

optional taco toppings: extra salsa, cilantro, chopped green onion, sliced avocado, sour cream, shredded lettuce...ect

Directions

1. In a large skillet bring the water, salsa up to a boil. Add in the meat chunks. Reduce heat to low and simmer.

2. Add in the taco seasoning, green pepper, and chopped onion. The fat from the meat will help "saute" the veggies and the water will help the seasonings to really surround the meat. Continue cooking on low for 5 minutes or so until the veggies are soft and half of the water has been reduced. Add in the corn starch and stir for about 2 minutes and turn off the stove. The sauce will thicken.

3. In another skillet heat up some tortillas just until they are more flexible. Put about a 1/4- 1/2 cup of the meat/veg mixture in each tortilla. Then top the mixture with cheese, and if you want more salsa and avocado. Tuck the sides in and roll the tortilla to look like a burrito Put them seam side back down on to the same skillet that warmed the tortilla for a 3-5 minutes to make sure the cheese melts over low heat. If you want a crunchier texture cook for 5-10 minutes flipping it when it looking more golden brown.

4. Top the finished tortillas with shredded lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cilantro, green onion = anything you want. Treat it like a taco. For me this meant more avocado! Yum!!