Mango-Chipotle Chicken Burritos with Black Beans

I cheated.

No.

I did.

I was craving some really fresh, summery, yummy mexican-ish type food.

I had chicken. I had tortillas. I had.... hmmmm....

Oh yeah. That random bottle of salad dressing my mom shipped to me along with the other 42 bottles I have. Something by Kraft called Mango-Chipotle. Hmmmm.

Chicken. Mango-Chipotle.

This works.

So...maybe a put it together yourself burrito?

As you can see it was kid approved.

Yup. That'll work. And we could totally use that dressing for a marinade/cooking sauce for the chicken. Oooooh! And we have an entire gallon bag of black beans, so we could make mexican style black beans.

OMG. It's healthy too! So much protein!

We like protein. Protein is good.

So let's get started

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cleaned and laid out in either a glass pan or jelly roll pan lined in foil.

Smother chicken with dressing, slice up some onion and toss it in, and cover with another piece of foil. Seal the foil. This is important. It will allow steam to be captured which results in fabulously tender chicken cooked relatively quickly.

Throw in oven for 20 mins or so. Baste with dressing every 10 mins.

So that's twice. You'll be ok. It's easy to remember. Twice.

That's it?

Well... uh... ya.

That's it. So easy.

So.... There are several ways this chicken can go. If you are in a tropical mood, make up some mango salsa, cook up some coconut rice, and maybe make a small arugula salad with feta cheese and a vinaigrette.

If you are in a mexican mood, when it comes out of the oven, you can serve over black beans and rice with sour cream and salsa, OR....

Make up some black beans, grab out tortillas, chop up some lettuce, tomato and cucumber, and make a build your own burrito.

I took option 3.

So. I have a gallon bag of black beans in the freezer, mainly because I cooked them, then realized I didn't have any ziploc baggies in less than a gallon.

Sigh.

So. Defrost your beans, about a quart's worth depending on the number of people you are feeding, obviously. Or 2 cans.

Saute some onion bits. Add 1 tsp garlic powder or 4-5 cloves fresh and 1Tbs taco seasoning. Splash in some worcestershire sauce and just a drop or 2 of liquid smoke, if you have it.

Toss in beans and a little water with a chicken bouillon cube or 1 tsp of chicken(or veggie) Better Than Bouillon. Pre-made broth works well too. By a little I mean maybe 1/2 c. Add more if the beans suck it all up. You want the beans to be a little soupy.

Let them cook until heated through and broth is thick.

Meanwhile, check your chicken. If it is done, pull off top foil and put back in oven a few minutes to brown the top just a touch.

Assemble other ingredients on the table.

Cut chicken into pieces and transfer it, and onions onto a plate. Feel free to shred chicken, that works too. I cut mine into large slices and let the creators decide how they wanted to further alter it for their burrito.

To create burrito, layer chicken, beans, veggies, sour cream and salsa. Wrap and enjoy.

As you can see, my son opted for beans on the side and no onions or salsa.

What a bum.

Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich

It's an amazingly beautiful perfect day today in Washington. I am hobbling along with bare feet and a tank top today. Let me tell you, the air on my skin is like a lover's caress. Mother nature needs to create a climate where it doesn't get above like 70 ever. Or below for that matter. I'd be down with that.

I'm in a summery mood today, and again am in a creative mood for food.

So lunch today was a chicken sandwich, hawaiian style.

Well probably not technically hawaiian, but it has tropically things on it so we are calling it that, k? K.

See the yumminess...

So there is no step by step with this, because its basically assembly only. And cutting stuff.

Start with chicken. I used a frozen chicken patty and cooked it in the microwave then put it in a saute pan for a little bit to get it crispy. Lots less time than using the oven. 

I was hungry. I like shortcuts.

You can use a chicken breast as well and just cook it in oven or saute pan. I keep several cooked on hand because I have a high protein diet and its a quick snack.

Cut up an onion and mushrooms while waiting for chicken. Saute them in a little olive oil to until brownish in color. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper while cooking.

Slice a piece of pineapple or use a ring or 2 out of the can and put in pan. Let them get a golden brown color on both sides. 

Slice an avocado.

For the mayo/sauce I used 1 T olive oil mayo, dash of garlic powder, pinch of dill, pinch of ginger.

Get out your buns. 

EWWWW! NO! Not those buns! Geez! Put THOSE buns away!

The edible kind...get one out. I like onion rolls, but a hoagie bun or whatever you have on hand os fine. 

Take pineapple out of pan and after buttering the un-crusty side of the bun, put them in the pan to warm up. You know. Kind of like grilled cheese.

When nice and toasty, spread each half with mayo mix and a wedge of laughing cow cheese or melt your cheese of preference over the chicken. Swiss, provolone, monty jack works well or cream cheese if you don't have the Laughing Cow stuff.

Assemble. Chicken. Lettuce. Pineapple. Onion/Mushroom mix. Avocado. 

Yum.

Voila! You have a very yummy summery sandwich, perfect for a sunny day and eating on the porch.

Veg-alicious Sandwiches.

Do you have a bunch of random bits and pieces of vegetables in your fridge drawers that you haven't quite needed yet and don't know what to do with?

Did you shop the used bread section at Freddies and get some awesome stuff but have no clue what to do with it?

Are you looking for a quick and easy meal in about 30 mins or so?

If you answered yes to any of these question then I have the recipe for you!

This is one mom came up with at some point, and well, I made up my own version of hers.

Today's random veggies:

-Brussel Sprouts

-Sweet Potatoes

-Cauliflower

-Onion

-Bell Pepper

-Mushrooms

So dig them out of the drawers, cut off any bad parts ('cause you know that the cauliflower you bought a month ago has one or 2)

Chop into decent sized bits and dump into a good size bowl.

Get out your balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.

Yes you may substitute the oil for what you have on hand. Balsamic or other dark vinegar (malt, etc) are required for the depth of flavor. If you must, red wine is a good sub, but def not white or apple cider ok? Ok.

If you need a lesson on vinegars, I will be happy to give one. OOOOH! Maybe do a post about vinegars and basic herbs/spices and their uses! YES!

Sorry, got side-tracked.

Anyway, pour in some vinegar and oil in the bowl. Nope, no need to measure just throw some in, enough to cover the veggies when tossed around. Sprinkle in some garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper.

If you toss around and it doesn't look like enough vinegar or oil, add a little more.

Fine. Maybe 2-3 Tbs of oil to 4 c of veggies, 5-6Tbs vinegar. K?

Geez! I will teach you to wing it. Measuring is for the birds unless its baking. Then its required. Just start with a little, taste it, if its not enough, add more. Easy. Just START SMALL. Better to add than to have to take away, 'cause taking away is pretty impossible. And fixing is not fun.

Ok. So, turn on the oven.. maybe 350-375 or there abouts. If your oven is retarded like mine is, then higher or lower is fine.

Dump your veggies onto a FOIL lined baking sheet or jelly roll pan (baking sheet with sides) Trust me. The foil will make your life SOOOO much easier when its time to clean up. Recycle the foil, though ok? Gotta remember mother earth and protecting her.

Throw in oven and let do its happy thing. You might want to turn them once in the cooking. I ignore them and go play on pinterest for awhile.

When the house starts to smell good (about 20 mins or so, depending on the retarded oven), grab that random bread, slather it with whatever cheese you have on hand, throw in oven to get all melty.

While its getting all melty, grab out the stuff you like on sandwiches. Mayo and horseradish.

Or whatever.

Assemble sandwiches. Your done.

See? Easy?

If you are so inclined, you can make something like mac n cheese or fries or corn on the cob or devilled eggs or whatever suits your mood and the season.

I do coleslaw, devilled eggs and corn in the summer, pasta in the winter.

Don't ask me why, I'm just odd that way.

I need to give you my devilled egg and coleslaw recipes at some point. They are other things that are super simple.

This is, by the way, a great meal for camping. Cut veggies store in plastic containers, getting all happy in the juices. Bring a cast iron skillet and some foil to put over it and cook over campfire. It was a big hit!

Who said you can't do gourmet cooking while camping?