We were blessed with such a wonderful holiday full of the people we love! I certainly hope you all had a similarly loving and wonderful holiday.
As we traveled around the Mid-Atlantic, I confess I enjoyed letting other people be chief cook and instead playing the un-glorified but necessary role of bottle washer. And when Little Sis and Bro-in-Law are the cooks I am always in for a treat, so I was happy to wash bottles and anything else they dirtied in the process of feeding me.
Now that we’re home I face the same challenges that you do of once again providing healthy meals within the parameters of busy schedule and budget. If you are ready to make a change and try to eat more real food (and feel better and lose weight at the same time), check out our Baby Steps series! We will be adding to the Baby Steps series soon, but in the meantime, you have to eat tonight, right? Here is a simple healthy meal that easily adapts to whatever you have in the house – and also can easily be varied for different tastes.
New Year – new experiments… I thought I’d make first fried bean burritos last night. I didn’t have re-fried beans, some of them have lousy ingredient lists anyway, but I did have beans… so re-fried beans must get fried twice right? Why not fry the once, would that be such a problem 😉 Of course I didn’t really fry them…
A few items such as a can or two of beans in the pantry, onions in the pantry, and tortillas in the freezer, along with dairy or non-dairy cheese, any fresh or frozen veggies that you have and salsa if you have it and dinner is served in about 15 minutes.
Start with warmed whole-grain tortillas (I used Ezekiel tortillas which have a very strong flavor and are very chewy – just to warn you if you want to try them , and Ezekiel corn tortillas for my gluten-free hubby).
Then make fillings that your family can mix and match.
BEANY FILLING:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 can beans (I used dark red kidney beans)
several TBsp water as needed.
oil
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
dash of chili powder or to taste
dash of salt
Chop onion and heat oil in a skillet..
Add onion and spices & cook several minutes until translucent
Add drained and rinsed beans
Cook on low and mash with a mashing tool of your choice… school books, perhaps? Just kidding. I like school, I like school, I like school 😉
Add water a bit at a time to give your beany filling a little mush
Please Sir, could I have more beany mush?
This does indeed resemble re-fried beans which is also a fast option, but I found this to be fresher tasting and cheaper, especially if you are using organic beans vs. organic pre-prepared re-friend beans. Fresh and cheap works for me!
CHEESY FILLING:
Option 1: cheese 😉 Grate some cheese and add it to the burrito assembly line
Option 2: quick sunflower seed / cashew cheese
This is an attempt to combine some cheesy offerings we have shared in the past (sunflower cheese & cashew cheese) but without the extra work and time involved in making firm cashew cheese.
1/2 cup sunflower seeds & 1/2 cup cashews soaked in 2 cups of water in the frig (put these in to soak in the morning and they’ll be done by dinner)
juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 Tbsp)
1/2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1-2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast flakes
1 clove garlic
1/2 – 1 tsp salt
Mix all in food processor until creamy, scraping down sides as needed
VEGGIES:
Whatever you have that your people will eat, inside of, or next to, a burrito. I had fresh red pepper and romaine. WHATEVER works. Any vegetable is better than no vegetable.
Line it up on the counter or server or dinner table and let everyone make their favorite.
Of course you can use any leftover meat you have as well, but your family will probably not even miss it with the hearty bean and cheese combo. It’s a new year and a new horizon…. who knows what they’ll try… especially if it’s what’s on the table 😉
Mine looked like this before I added salsa and ate it quickly.
Don’t know if it would help with your kids, but it definitely helps mine when I let him assemble his own and eat some things on the side. He did choose diary cheese over my non-dairy cheese as well. Thanks for stopping by!
I’d much rather make my own refried beans too! Not too mention the icky BPA that comes along with anything canned, and I do love me some bean burritos! I found you over at Twiggy Things! I’d love it if you checked out my blog too if you have time. Can’t wait to check out the rest of yours! I love school too 😉
Hi there! I followed the link over here from Miz Helen’s Place. I came to invite you to my blog hop Tailgating Time! It’s a once a year blog hop featuring a collection of great food for Super Bowl parties. I hope you will come on over and join the fun. Happy New Year!
Thanks so much for stopping over to link up! There’s no limit to link if you have other goodies that would go great for a big super bowl party, the more the merrier!
Yum, I love burritos! They are one of our favorite quick and easy meals. Have you ever tried Sweet Potato Burritos? They can be made with pumpkin or butternut squash instead, if that’s what you have.
Your recipe sounds good! I have tried sweet potato and black bean burritos – but being a HUGE fan of sweet potatoes, yours sounds potato-i-er and definitely worth a try. Thanks!
A Anything Goes Fast Burrito happens often here, we just love this as our go to sandwich. Thank you so much for celebrating TWO YEARS with FULL PLATE THURSDAY, I appreciate your visit!
Come Back Soon
Miz Helen
Thank YOU Miz Helen. I used to take a tortilla with leftovers of whatever variety to work and people were always amazed. Leftovers and tortillas are so versatile! Thanks for hosting such a wonderfully Full Plate 😉
my favorite meals are always the make-shift ones that come together quickly from just whatever happens to be in the fridge and pantry. your burrito looks great!
thank you for sharing your post with us at the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up – I hope to see you again this week with more seasonal & real/whole food posts! xo, kristy
These look so delicious!! This would be a perfect recipe to share at Meal Plan Monday at http://www.modernalternativekitchen.com. The link goes live at 7a EST tomorrow, hope to see you there!
Agree those canned refried beans have some disappointing ingredients. Once-fried for me!
Go Patty – once-fry those beans 😉
I love these kinds of quick thinking impromptu dinners. Sometimes they turn out way better than “planned” meals!
I agree. Most of my best ideas have been inspired by lack of ingredients or time. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention!
These look delicious, now if I could just convince my kids 🙂
Don’t know if it would help with your kids, but it definitely helps mine when I let him assemble his own and eat some things on the side. He did choose diary cheese over my non-dairy cheese as well. Thanks for stopping by!
Beany-cheezy mush, please! I love these kinds of meals – low stress, high delicious.
Me too. Somehow getting back in the swing of being home has called for easy!
Wow, looks good and healthy. Thank you I need that. Saw you at link party. Visit me at memoriesbythemile.com
Wanda Ann
Thanks for stopping by! Heading over to your site 🙂
I’d much rather make my own refried beans too! Not too mention the icky BPA that comes along with anything canned, and I do love me some bean burritos! I found you over at Twiggy Things! I’d love it if you checked out my blog too if you have time. Can’t wait to check out the rest of yours! I love school too 😉
Thanks Bridget! I found something delicious on your blog as well 🙂
YUM! Anything Mexican is a hit at this house! Thanks for sharing at Church Supper. Have a blessed week & come back soon.
Thank you for hosting Krista! I agree – Mexican works over here as well 🙂
Hi there! I followed the link over here from Miz Helen’s Place. I came to invite you to my blog hop Tailgating Time! It’s a once a year blog hop featuring a collection of great food for Super Bowl parties. I hope you will come on over and join the fun. Happy New Year!
Thanks for the invite Martha – we’d be delighted!
Thanks so much for stopping over to link up! There’s no limit to link if you have other goodies that would go great for a big super bowl party, the more the merrier!
Yum, I love burritos! They are one of our favorite quick and easy meals. Have you ever tried Sweet Potato Burritos? They can be made with pumpkin or butternut squash instead, if that’s what you have.
Your recipe sounds good! I have tried sweet potato and black bean burritos – but being a HUGE fan of sweet potatoes, yours sounds potato-i-er and definitely worth a try. Thanks!
This looks so good! Thanks for sharing on Wildcrafting Wednesday!
Thank you for hosting! We appreciate it
Now I want mexican for dinner. These look delicious! Thanks for joining Healthy 2Day Wednesday 🙂
Thanks for hosting! I’m a cheapskate cook too 😉 Hope you enjoy them!
This look delicious! I also love making my own re-fried beans! Much healthier and cheaper too! Have a great weekend!
Thanks Rebecca. I was surprised at how quick, easy and tasty these were.
A Anything Goes Fast Burrito happens often here, we just love this as our go to sandwich. Thank you so much for celebrating TWO YEARS with FULL PLATE THURSDAY, I appreciate your visit!
Come Back Soon
Miz Helen
Thank YOU Miz Helen. I used to take a tortilla with leftovers of whatever variety to work and people were always amazed. Leftovers and tortillas are so versatile! Thanks for hosting such a wonderfully Full Plate 😉
I love how simple and healthy this dish is… thanks so much for sharing it on foodie friday.
Thanks so much. It’s an absolute lifesaver of a dinner in terms of planning, and I seem to need quite a few of those. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Yummy!
Thanks Diana!
my favorite meals are always the make-shift ones that come together quickly from just whatever happens to be in the fridge and pantry. your burrito looks great!
thank you for sharing your post with us at the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up – I hope to see you again this week with more seasonal & real/whole food posts! xo, kristy
Thanks for hosting Kristy. Perhaps the saying should be “Lots of little bits of leftovers are the mother of invention!”
These look so delicious!! This would be a perfect recipe to share at Meal Plan Monday at http://www.modernalternativekitchen.com. The link goes live at 7a EST tomorrow, hope to see you there!
Thanks for the invite! We’d love to come to the party. And I loved your tips for easy peeling of hard boiled eggs.
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Yum! Your burritos look awesome! Thanks for sharing your recipe with the Hearth and Soul Hop. I’ve pinned it to our Pinterest board.
Thanks for the pin Alea! Fast and yummy is my favorite combo 😉
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