Are you looking for a super easy yet hardy and delicious meal? Here is an easy burrito ^[1] bowl that’s made with deli chicken and canned beans.  Easy, quick and really delicious!

This recipe is for a single serving, but you can buy a whole deli chicken and more of the other toppings to serve the whole family!!  

Here’s How to Make Your Bowl:

In a small bowl, shred the chicken and toss with a the chili powder and cumin. If it got cold, heat it up with the spices on it in the oven or the microwave.

Heat the beans in a small pan. In a large bowl, assemble all the ingredients and top with salsa.

Easy and delicious! Serve with some warm tortillas!

Here’s a list of topping ideas:

• Cheese (Mexican, cheddar, pepper jack)
• Tomatoes
• Lettuce
• Cilantro
• Lime wedge
• Onion
• Jalapeño
• Refried beans
• Mexican Rice
• Chili Crisps (may be Asian but it’s so good on a burrito!)
• Sour cream
• Mexican Crema
• Guacamole
• Enchilada Sauce
• Whatever you like on your burrito goes in the bowl!

You can use leftovers too – beef, pork, tofu…

© Copyright 2021 The Lazy Gastronome

Here are some things that are perfect to use for this recipe or to give as a gift!

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We’ve been moving from state to state since January and we’ve covered a lot of ground! Today we head to Arizona.

The only official state food in Arizona is the Apache trout, yet in all the research I did and all the times I visited the state, I rarely saw any fish dishes. What I did find is a lot of Mexican inspired dishes and food that was used by the natives in the area.

But I did find one thing that you can get almost anywhere in Arizona – the Chimichanga.

The story goes…in the mid-1950s the owner/chef of El Charro’s cafe accidentally invented this fun and delicious food. She accidentally dropped a big burrito into the deep fryer. And the result is history.

The original is a big – like as big as a newspaper (remember those) big! But at our house we like to stick to real person portions, so we made a smaller version of this fabulous meal.

You can make a chimichanga with any of the ingredients you would put in a burrito. You can use chicken, pork, beans, beef or a combination – add cheese and some seasoning and you’ve got your start. This recipe is for beef and bean chimis.

NOTE: One of our readers notes, “Originally Arizona chimichangas did not have beans in them. I learned from a master in Tucson in 1972. Beans are a TexMex thing. You certainly can have them on the side.”  Good to know!

Here’s How to Do it:

Start by cooking the beef. Mix up the spices

and give the meat a good, hard rub with it on both sides. Cover it and let it sit int he refrigerator for about an hour.

Next, cut it into small cubes while it’s still cold. Then let it rest for about 15 minutes.

While it’s resting, heat up the oil in the pan. When it’s hot, put the beef in and brown it on all sides.

When it’s brown and starting to crisp on the edges, pour in the broth making sure to loosen all the bits on the bottom. Bring the broth to a boil

then reduce the heat to low and gently simmer until the meat pulls apart with a fork, about 2 to 3 hours.

You can make the meat a few days in advance, just refrigerate it until you’re ready to build your burritos… Like now!

Lay out the tortillas and top each one evenly with 1/4 of the beans, then the meat and sauce. Top that off with two to three tablespoons of cheese,

and roll the burrito.

Set the burritos aside and prepare the oil.

Place enough oil in skillet to cover the burritos a little more than half way. Heat the oil to about 375° –

Using a scoop, gently lower the burritos into the oil. Let them cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, then gently turn them to brown on both sides.

Remove from the oil and let drain on paper towels or coffee filters.

Ready to eat? Serve these up with a fresh  jalapeño, some sour cream, a little bit of salsa and some fresh cilantro. And don’t forget the avocado! De-licious!

© Copyright 2019 The Lazy Gastronome

Here are some things that are perfect to use for this recipe!

Disclosure: The items below are affiliate links through Amazon.com. If you purchase any of these products through the links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!

This post has been contributed –  All opinions are mine alone 

I like to go vegan from time to time, but there are some pretty tasty foods you miss out on when you go vegan. Thankfully, there are more and more options in stores and restaurants all the time. Still, why wait for these businesses to catch up with you? Taking the reins and making your own vegan substitutes for things at home is a lot easier than you may think. Besides, home cooking is the best way to sustain yourself anyway, so you don’t have much of an excuse not to do this at home!

 

We’ve already showed you with our banana “ice cream” how simple it can be to make a vegan substitute for ice cream ^[10]. Now we’re going to look at something a little bit more elaborate while still remaining relatively simple. The title of this article has already given it away: we’re going to be making quick and easy vegan bean burritos!

The tortillas

The question of what sort of tortillas to buy becomes the same question a carnivore would ask: what makes a tortilla suitable for use as a burrito? Well, a lot of the tortillas you get in stores are pretty darn thin. The filling is going to be quite moist, so you can’t be dealing with some weakling brand that won’t result in burrito integrity!

Instead of getting the cheapest options available in stores, you may want to look at suppliers that sell strong, good-quality tortillas as a specialty. www.snacksuniverse.com ^[11] is a good example; you can also choose between white flour and whole wheat or multigrain tortillas (hint hint: the latter two are healthier!). The thicker the tortilla, the easier it will be to fold. The best size should be at least 8 inches in diameter. Anything bigger and you might have to use cutlery to tackle that beast! (Make sure you double-check ingredients.  Some flour tortillas are made with lard). 

Rice baby

Are you using rice to bulk up the burrito, or do you want to use the rice as another opportunity to add exciting flavor? If you’re just looking for the former, then getting some quick-cook white rice should do the trick. You can find techniques for the best white rice at www.marthastewart.com ^[12]; remember to reduce the time by about three minutes if you want the rice in the burrito to be a little more on the firm side as opposed to fluffy.

Something you should definitely consider if you want more flavor, however, is using brown rice (which, yes, is healthier!) boiled with some vegetable stock. Throw about a third of a stock cube in with the rice as you’re cooking it; any more and you risk the rice overpowering the other ingredients.

The bean mixture

Now we’re getting to the good stuff. You’re going to want red onion, peppers in a variety of colors (yellow, red, and orange are best!), black beans, garlic, and a large, fresh tomato (you can also use a can of chopped tomatoes). Slice the onion and peppers (leaving a little bit of red onion for the guacamole later; process that onion with some oil and avocado and bam, guac!) into fairly chunky but long slices and start frying those up. Don’t sauté the garlic with these.  Throw in any spices you’re using at this stage, as they’ll activate with more potency when exposed immediately to hot oil. You can read more about the proper use of spices over at www.wikihow.com ^[13]. Paprika, chili flakes, cumin, chili powder, and a little bit of turmeric work best here. Don’t over-fry the onions – you want them to retain some crunch.

Now you want to add the black beans. Let them fry for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the chopped tomatoes. You may want to drain the tomatoes a bit until they stop dripping from a sieve (especially if you are using the canned variety); otherwise, you’ll end up with too much moisture. You’re not going to be cooking this mixture long enough for reduction to take place! Turn the heat to moderate-low and let it simmer for about ten minutes.

Once, you’ve taken it off the heat, then stir in some sliced garlic. This is the best way to go about this in terms of both flavor and health. Check out the health benefits of garlic, particularly raw garlic, at www.healthyeating.sfgate.com ^[14]. The “less cooked” your garlic, the better. Adding in some slices while the mixture is off the heat and cooling down allows it to get warmed up enough to take away some of the harshness of the flavor without sacrificing too many of the healthy elements of this wonderful allium. Win-win!

“Cheese” and “sour cream”

So far, so standard, right? There’s not much here to separate a vegetarian burrito from a vegan burrito. But let’s face it: a lot of us aren’t too fussed about what meat happens to be in there or not; we’re really in it for the melted cheese and sour cream! This, of course, is where your burrito must stop being a mere vegetarian burrito and truly prove its vegan credentials.

A lot of vegan burritos end up being quite dry due to a lack of sour cream, but you can whip up a great substitute. There are many ways to make vegan sour cream, but my favorite is through the use of cashew nuts ^[15]. Get a cup of these nuts and let them soak overnight. Then, get them into a blender. Add half a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, a pinch of salt, a dash of lemon juice, half a teaspoon of sugar, and ⅓ a cup of water, and let that all process for at least five minutes. You can add some more of those ingredients to your preferred taste!

This “sour cream” – which, admittedly, is just tasty cashew nut paste – sometimes negates the need for cheese for some people, as cashews are a popular ingredient in vegan cheese substitutes. While there are some good vegan cheese brands out there, very few of them actually melt. You can go to www.allrecipes.com ^[16] if you want to make a quick and simple thick sauce that simulates the feel and taste of melted cheese!

So there you have it – the whole scoop on making a truly VEGAN burrito!  Enjoy!

Check out this sweet burrito!

It’s almost summer and I look forward to all those sweet summer fruits, especially the berries!  Here is a treat that can serve as dessert or even breakfast!  Its low in sugar and full of flavor!  Change up the fruits you use and maybe add a little cinnamon or nutmeg too!  Just bake it up and take a bite!  Delicious!

What you need:

• 4    6 to 8-inch flour tortillas
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter
• 2 teaspoons of sugar mixed with ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 8-10 large, fresh strawberries, sliced
• 4 large strawberries for garnish
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

 

How to Do it:

First, brush both sides of the tortillas with the butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Mix the ricotta with the brown sugar and 1/8 of the mixture in the center of each tortilla.

Place ¼ of the strawberries and ¼ of ¾ cup blueberries over the ricotta.

Fold the tortilla burrito style and place, seam side down, onto a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, or until the tortilla is golden.  Remove from the oven to cool a little.

Top each burrito with the remaining ricotta mixture and blueberries.  Gently slice the 4 remaining strawberries into a fan shape and top the burrito with it.

Serve warm or cold – delicious either way!

Makes 4 servings.

 

 

© Copyright 2017 The Lazy Gastronome