Chipotle Bean Burritos

Photo courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine

I made this recipe for my family a couple of weeks ago for dinner one night. We were AMAZED at how absolutely delicious it was...and FAST to prepare!! A bit like refried beans "gourmified" and deliciously fancy. The seasonings are incredibly flavorful and spicy. My kids LOVE beans, as do my hubby and I so this was perfect! Another great thing about it is that it's vegetarian! We saved money on meat by just using the beans (though this seasoning combination would be fantastic with taco meat!). We could have saved more money if I could take a few extra minutes planning the day before and cooked dry beans in my crockpot, but we all know how hard it is to plan ahead sometimes. I even threw in some of my cooked wheat berries for good measure and to make the bean mix stretch a bit.

The original recipe says it serves 6, but that is being too generous. I'd say it's more like 4 adults. So if you're planning on having any leftovers, make double. You'll be glad you did!!!

Chipotle Bean Burritos

Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 burrito)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained
3 tablespoons refrigerated fresh salsa
6 (10-inch) flour tortillas (such as Mission)
1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
1 1/2 cups chopped plum tomato (about 3)
1 1/2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
6 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
6 tablespoons light sour cream

Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in chile powder and salt; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/3 cup water and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in salsa. Partially mash bean mixture with a fork.

2. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/3 cup bean mixture into center of each tortilla. Top each serving with about 2 1/2 tablespoons cheese, 1/4 cup tomato, 1/4 cup lettuce, 1 tablespoon onions, and 1 tablespoon sour cream; roll up.

Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light, JANUARY 2010