This recipe originated from Todd Wilbur's version of Chili's Southwestern Egg rolls that he had made over to make them more healthy. See my Ode to Todd Wilbur for more information about him. I have adjusted it both so I can make enough to freeze and so that it is easier and has less waste. (His calls for 2 Tbsp of red pepper, etc...)
Here is my recipe:
3 large chicken breasts (Between 1-2 lbs chicken, you can use more, I just like to save money and minimize meat)
1 large red bell pepper
1 full bunch minced green onion (about 1 cup)
2 cups frozen corn
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 (10 oz) package frozen spinach thawed and drained, or 10 oz of frozen spinach (it looks like a LOT, but it cooks down)
3 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp cumin
1tbsp chili powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 dashes of cayenne pepper
¾ pound pepper jack
You can cook the chicken any way you like, but it is best grilled. He advises oiling them, then add salt and pepper and grill. But I have boiled it, and I've browned it on a frying pan too.
After your chicken is cooked you can put it all together. First cook your onion and peppers in a little oil in your pot for a few minutes (till soft) Then add everything else but the cheese and cook while mixing it all together. (I have a pampered chef chopping tool that is PERFECT for this. I think it's called a "mix and chop" but it has an asterisk shaped bottom, and you can chop your spinach and chicken up while mixing it all together with it. I LOVE it. When it is all heated through, and the liquid is gone, you can add your cheese. Then it is ready to fill the burritos.
Todd gives a great way to heat the tortillas. You barely dampen a towel (I like to use a flour sack towel) and lay it on a microwave safe plate. He advises five at a time, but I put 10. So you lay your tortillas on the plate and wrap the towel around them and microwave for about a minute till they are soft and pliable. This keeps them from getting dry and tough. But warming them prevents them from tearing when you fold them. I usually use a cookie scoop to portion out my filling. You don't need very much. My cookie scoop is one ounce, and when I use a regular taco sized tortilla I use two scoops scraped flat on the side of the bowl. For larger ones I usually use three. I scoop it on and then spread it in a long thin line about 2 inches from the edge of the line. Then I fold down my ends, and roll my tortillas into a long round burrito. I took some photos of this, but they are on my storage hard drive which is unavailable to me at the moment. I'll post them when I get it back ;).
There are several options to cook them. You can deep fry them, or fry them on a pan with oil, or for his low fat version, TW advises covering them with cooking spray and baking them. I did this at first, but I didn't like putting all those chemicals on our food, so then I would baste them with oil, but I like them just as well without the extra oil so I cook them like frozen burritos, (350 degrees for about 25-30 min) or even better I use my panini pan (Thanks to my mother in law who bought it for me, I LOVE it). I grill them till they are brown on all sides (be careful to use a low enough heat that they heat in the middle by the time they are brown) I've also used a plug in griddle pan too. I don't even use oil and they get nice looking grill marks on them.
You can dip in ranch, or make his avocado ranch listed here, or the cilantro ranch I've seen posted online (google it) I've had it and liked it, but I don't know which one so I don't want to post it. We just use low fat sour cream most of the time. (Once I mixed sour cream with a little bbq sauce and I liked that too)
I am really particular about my kitchen gadgets...(yes pampered chef lady I said it again! GADGETS! Boring back story: I got scolded at a pampered chef party for using that term instead of tools. It was embarrassing, and I was a little irritated that they feel the need to specify that they are tools to somehow give them more legitimacy. So now it is my personal vendetta to keep using whatever term I want! Yes, I am vindictive like that!) But my favorite cookie scoops are the ones with a solid plastic handle and a thumb lever instead of the metal handle that you squeeze together to release your batter. I like to use cold cookie batter, and I broke two pampered chef ones before I went on a quest to find one like my mom's. I got mine from a local restaurant supply here in Utah call Orson Gigi. This is a link for their scoops Mine is the purple one (#40,.89 oz). Last time I was there, they were a couple bucks cheaper in store.
In case you wondered what panini pan I have, this is it. I use it almost every day. It replaces my regular plug in griddle, because the plates are flat on one side and have the grill lines on the other.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Crock Pot Refried Beans and my homemade whole grain frozen burritos
This is the easiest, best recipe ever for refried beans! My brother Steve, taught me how to cook beans in the crock pot years ago, and then my sister Cari told me about crock pot refried beans from pinterest. I can't remember which recipes I started with, but I ended up changing it for my taste. (I think one was from 100 days of real food) It is very little more work than canned and doesn't have any unnatural ingredients or chemicals from the can. :) I usually fill my crock pot using about 7 cups of beans, but I've included a per pound guideline below.
Per 2-2 1/2 cups (1 lb) of dry thoroughly washed and sorted pinto Beans add
4 cups water (2 to one water to bean ratio)
1 pepper Either 1sweet red or green pepper or a can of green chilies or a couple on anaheim peppers, or jalapeno, whatever you like.
1 onion
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1-2 tsp minced garlic
Salt to taste approximately a tsp? (I never measure, I just sprinkle it over, and if it needs more, I do it again)
2-4 oz cheese (I use either cheddar alone, or a mixture of cheddar and pepper jack) When I use pepper jack cheese I sometimes lessen the three spices to about 2/3 of a tsp. But it shouldn't be overly spicy even if you leave it in.
Add everything but salt and cheese to your crock pot. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. You shouldn't ever add salt to dry beans before they are fully cooked. Cook for 8 hrs on HIGH. Make sure they have a creamy texture, that is when you know they are done. If there appears to be too much water, scoop some out into a bowl and keep it in case you need to add it back in. Some water is needed. Blend with an immersion blender. When I make these, with slightly less water than 2 to one water ratio, I never need to drain out the water. Sometimes it looks a little too wet at first, but this thickens up a lot when it cools a bit. And you don't need to pull out the vegetables either. Just blend with an immersion blender, or regular blender. (I'm telling you, if you don't have an immersion blender, it is worth the investment! If you mess up and make lumpy gravy, blend out the lumps, if you make any kind of pureed soup, you just have to put it in there and blend it up, as well as for these beans. SO much easier than blending them a little at a time.) Then you salt it to taste, and cheese and stir it up.
I usually do about 3 lbs at a time in my big 7 qt crock pot and it fills it right up. My favorite mixture is this: 3lbs beans, 3 large sweet red peppers, 2-3 large or 4-5 small onions( note I LOVE onion), 1 scant tbsp each of the cumin, chili powder, and paprika, 2 tbsp minced garlic (I use the big jar you keep in the fridge and it seems less potent. Be more careful if you use fresh, maybe 3 cloves), Salt, and 1 cup pepper jack, 2 cups cheddar
Then, I make my own frozen homemade burritos with whole grain tortilla shells. You just warm the shells a little. (I'll share a little tip I got from todd wilbur for this below) Then you put a strip of beans about 2 inches from the edge closest to you across the width of the tortilla. I try and make it about 1 inch wide and about 1/2 inch thick. (I haven't actually measured) You do not need very much. I use about 1/4 cup, for the mission whole wheat tortillas. It took me YEARS to realize that the reason my burritos didn't always go over well is I put WAY to many beans. Then I realized the ones they love have so few. This is also the reason I melt the cheese into the beans. My kids don't like finding a layer of melted cheese. go figure... :). Sorry, I digress. Back to the tutorial. Spread the beans, only leaving about an inch or 2 on each end. Then you fold each end with your right and left hands, pick up the side facing you with your thumbs while still holding the sides with your fingertips, and roll it over your strip of beans, continue till it is all rolled up. I hope this makes sense. I want to put photos, but knowing me I never will get around to it. Comment if you want me to, and that might push me to do it :). Anyway, this makes a really nice, uniform burrito perfect for freezing. I fill up zip lock bags and then they are ready to go. You can heat them in the microwave for approximately 2 minutes, or heat them in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, but what I like to do is use my panini pan I got for Christmas last year. (any frying or grill pan would work the same though). I cook it on medium heat browning all sides, because my family likes crunchy burritos. I don't even use butter or oil with my panini pan, and it leaves nice grill marks all over. But like I said, I've even used a regular flat griddle. That works great too. I have added butter in the past, but we like them so much this way, so why add all of that unnecessary fat?
So here is todd wilbur's awesome tortilla softening technique. I read it years ago, so it might have evolved a little over time. Slightly dampen a flour sack towel. Lay it across a microwave safe plate, and place your tortillas on it. (He does five at a time I think, But I just throw in a whole pack of ten) Fold the sides over the tortillas wrapping them all up. Then microwave for one minute. (If they don't seem pliable you can go longer, of course microwaves vary) This helps soften them up without drying them out. This is super important for burritos so you don't have them folding or tearing. It makes them so easy to use!
When I do three lbs of beans, they make a LOT of burritos. I usually buy five or six bags of tortillas when I buy them, but since we usually use some of it for bean dip and other meals and I use some of the tortillas for other things too, I don't have an exact estimate of how many burritos it makes. You can freeze refried beans, and reheat them in a little water, if you end up with leftover beans after your tortillas are gone.
*One last tip about homemade beans, they are SO MUCH better on the second day. My family gobbles them up even on day one, but when I am tasting them, trying to make sure they are how I want them, they always seem not quite right. But by the second day, the flavors all mesh together and they are great! Not to mention, they are fully thickened up.
Per 2-2 1/2 cups (1 lb) of dry thoroughly washed and sorted pinto Beans add
4 cups water (2 to one water to bean ratio)
1 pepper Either 1sweet red or green pepper or a can of green chilies or a couple on anaheim peppers, or jalapeno, whatever you like.
1 onion
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1-2 tsp minced garlic
Salt to taste approximately a tsp? (I never measure, I just sprinkle it over, and if it needs more, I do it again)
2-4 oz cheese (I use either cheddar alone, or a mixture of cheddar and pepper jack) When I use pepper jack cheese I sometimes lessen the three spices to about 2/3 of a tsp. But it shouldn't be overly spicy even if you leave it in.
Add everything but salt and cheese to your crock pot. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. You shouldn't ever add salt to dry beans before they are fully cooked. Cook for 8 hrs on HIGH. Make sure they have a creamy texture, that is when you know they are done. If there appears to be too much water, scoop some out into a bowl and keep it in case you need to add it back in. Some water is needed. Blend with an immersion blender. When I make these, with slightly less water than 2 to one water ratio, I never need to drain out the water. Sometimes it looks a little too wet at first, but this thickens up a lot when it cools a bit. And you don't need to pull out the vegetables either. Just blend with an immersion blender, or regular blender. (I'm telling you, if you don't have an immersion blender, it is worth the investment! If you mess up and make lumpy gravy, blend out the lumps, if you make any kind of pureed soup, you just have to put it in there and blend it up, as well as for these beans. SO much easier than blending them a little at a time.) Then you salt it to taste, and cheese and stir it up.
I usually do about 3 lbs at a time in my big 7 qt crock pot and it fills it right up. My favorite mixture is this: 3lbs beans, 3 large sweet red peppers, 2-3 large or 4-5 small onions( note I LOVE onion), 1 scant tbsp each of the cumin, chili powder, and paprika, 2 tbsp minced garlic (I use the big jar you keep in the fridge and it seems less potent. Be more careful if you use fresh, maybe 3 cloves), Salt, and 1 cup pepper jack, 2 cups cheddar
Then, I make my own frozen homemade burritos with whole grain tortilla shells. You just warm the shells a little. (I'll share a little tip I got from todd wilbur for this below) Then you put a strip of beans about 2 inches from the edge closest to you across the width of the tortilla. I try and make it about 1 inch wide and about 1/2 inch thick. (I haven't actually measured) You do not need very much. I use about 1/4 cup, for the mission whole wheat tortillas. It took me YEARS to realize that the reason my burritos didn't always go over well is I put WAY to many beans. Then I realized the ones they love have so few. This is also the reason I melt the cheese into the beans. My kids don't like finding a layer of melted cheese. go figure... :). Sorry, I digress. Back to the tutorial. Spread the beans, only leaving about an inch or 2 on each end. Then you fold each end with your right and left hands, pick up the side facing you with your thumbs while still holding the sides with your fingertips, and roll it over your strip of beans, continue till it is all rolled up. I hope this makes sense. I want to put photos, but knowing me I never will get around to it. Comment if you want me to, and that might push me to do it :). Anyway, this makes a really nice, uniform burrito perfect for freezing. I fill up zip lock bags and then they are ready to go. You can heat them in the microwave for approximately 2 minutes, or heat them in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, but what I like to do is use my panini pan I got for Christmas last year. (any frying or grill pan would work the same though). I cook it on medium heat browning all sides, because my family likes crunchy burritos. I don't even use butter or oil with my panini pan, and it leaves nice grill marks all over. But like I said, I've even used a regular flat griddle. That works great too. I have added butter in the past, but we like them so much this way, so why add all of that unnecessary fat?
So here is todd wilbur's awesome tortilla softening technique. I read it years ago, so it might have evolved a little over time. Slightly dampen a flour sack towel. Lay it across a microwave safe plate, and place your tortillas on it. (He does five at a time I think, But I just throw in a whole pack of ten) Fold the sides over the tortillas wrapping them all up. Then microwave for one minute. (If they don't seem pliable you can go longer, of course microwaves vary) This helps soften them up without drying them out. This is super important for burritos so you don't have them folding or tearing. It makes them so easy to use!
When I do three lbs of beans, they make a LOT of burritos. I usually buy five or six bags of tortillas when I buy them, but since we usually use some of it for bean dip and other meals and I use some of the tortillas for other things too, I don't have an exact estimate of how many burritos it makes. You can freeze refried beans, and reheat them in a little water, if you end up with leftover beans after your tortillas are gone.
*One last tip about homemade beans, they are SO MUCH better on the second day. My family gobbles them up even on day one, but when I am tasting them, trying to make sure they are how I want them, they always seem not quite right. But by the second day, the flavors all mesh together and they are great! Not to mention, they are fully thickened up.
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