Well, it began with Halloween. Then suddenly, it was Thanksgiving, followed by parties every weekend until Christmas. A week later, after New Year’s, we all considered scaling back a bit. But nah, it was football playoff season, and somebody’s gotta do all that tailgating. The playoffs obviously culminated in the Super Bowl, and the following weekend, just yesterday!, was Valentine’s Day.
Whew! We’ve been partying for a looong time. I didn’t even mention the Chinese New Year or Mardi Gras. Is everyone bikini-ready for Spring Break, or what?
In other news, humans are required to eat to stay alive. Since I began this blog, the most frequently requested topic is weeknight dinner ideas. I’ve just been too distracted with all the special events since Halloween to do anything about it… until now.
But before we begin, I’d like to clear the air. Contrary to popular opinion, just because I hammer out a weekly food blog does not mean that I cook a five-course dinner every night. In fact, I am not above eating cereal for dinner. There are days when I’d rather stab myself with an ice pick than cook, because a visit to the ER sounds less exhausting.
And while we’re on the subject: when you invite me over, I’m not criticizing your food, I’m enjoying your company. So please stop saying things like, “I’m sure this tastes like Alpo compared to the stuff you cook.” Trust me, my kitchen has produced some truly revolting creations. I’m talking inedible, straight-to-the-garbage-can type stuff. Whatever culinary screw-ups you’ve committed, I’ve likely done it before, and with more gusto and fanfare. I just happen to have a slight obsession with food, and lots of stories to tell on the subject.
So, are we good now? Can we proceed? Great.
If you’re in charge of meals in your household, that means you have to come up with something palatable to all, interesting to some, and most importantly, non-lethal. After all, regularly feeding your family things that will ultimately result in heart disease, diabetes, or obesity is no way to say “I love you”.
Luckily for me, I stumbled across a cookbook several years ago that became my primary muse for weeknight dinners. It’s called Fresh & Fast: Inspired Cooking for Every Season and Every Day by Marie Simmons, and in addition to introducing me to a fuss-free way of thinking about and cooking food, it provided a zillion new ideas on things to make when time and energy are limiting factors. Now, I’m not suggesting that you run out and buy this book. It speaks to me, but it has a definite slant toward seafood and Mediterranean cuisine that may not interest you in the least. But if figuring out what to cook week in and week out feels like a chore, I would suggest that you find your own muse. It might be a magazine subscription (Cooking Light and Everyday Food are good places to start), a cookbook that makes you want to cook, or you could be all techno-savvy and find a website that inspires you. I’ve heard there are some that will even compile your grocery shopping list, which is pretty dang cool.
So what am I cooking this week? Well, this week marks the beginning of Lent. For Catholics like me, that means abstaining from meat this Wednesday (Ash Wednesday) and then every Friday from now until Easter. Luckily, I’m a flexitarian and going meatless isn’t much of a challenge. Over the years I’ve also gradually discovered several meatless dishes that my meat-and-potatoes husband enjoys, too. Toward the top of that list is Black Bean and Vegetable Burritos from Fresh & Fast, which is on our menu for this week.
In our house, cooking three dishes usually gets us through the week, then we coast on leftovers and backups like sandwiches. Most of the time, one of the three is either a hearty soup or a dinner salad. The second is typically a traditional dinner of lean meat plus a veggie. I intentionally cook enough meat for more than one meal (something my cousin Mary calls “planovers”), and then use the extra in a new way for the third dish.
This week, the lean meat plus veggie will be grilled chicken with fresh green beans. I’ll chop the extra chicken for use on the dinner salad. (Die-hard meat eaters can also add it to the black bean burritos. Demi, I’m talkin’ to you!)
Here’s how it will go down:
Sunday night: Black bean burritos. While I’m chopping the veggies for the burritos, I also wash and chop veggies for salad later this week and stow them in the fridge. Prep and marinate the chicken overnight. (I do most of the work on Sunday, to make it easier during the rest of the week.)
Monday night: Grill the chicken, and boil the green beans until crisp tender in salted water. Drain and toss with a drizzle of olive oil, or serve with a pat of butter. Chop the “planover” chicken before storing. Re-use the pot from the green beans to boil eggs for salad and egg salad sandwiches later in the week.
Tuesday night: Dinner salad with grilled chicken. I use pre-washed organic greens, and the veggies and chicken are already chopped. No cooking – just assembly.
Wednesday night : Leftover burritos. No cooking, no chopping. Just reheating and serving.
Thursday night: Because I’ll have more tortillas than I can use for the burritos, I’ll either use the chopped chicken for chicken soft tacos, or I’ll make chicken quesadillas. Nothing fancy, just tortillas, chicken, and cheese, with salsa and sour cream on the side. Basically reheating and serving.
I might serve canned refried beans (I use a vegetarian brand, because I like to save my lard quota for pie crusts) and make Spanish rice with this Mahatma mix. I do both in the microwave, which means no pots to wash. (Have I mentioned that I loathe washing dishes?)
Friday night: Freestyle, based on what’s still left. Perhaps the last smidge of burrito mixture on the last smidge of greens, for a southwest salad. Anyone with tortilla fatigue can make a turkey or egg salad sandwich.
And of course, there’s always cereal.
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In addition to being “fresh and fast”, these burritos have a comfort food satisfaction factor, and are also super nutritious. Remember how your mom told you to “eat your colors“? Well, they’re all here.
Black Bean and Vegetable Burritos
From Fresh & Fast by Marie Simmons
4 large (10-inch) flour tortillas
½ cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
½ cup fresh, canned, or frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 medium carrot, coarsely shredded
1 ¾ cups rinsed canned or cooked dried black beans
½ cup diced fresh or drained canned tomatoes
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh jalapeno, or more to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup coarsely shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded romaine or iceberg lettuce
½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
Preheat the oven (or toaster oven) to 350°F. Wrap the tortillas in foil and place in the oven until heated, about 10 minutes. (If you’re a tortilla veteran, you may know how to heat them in the microwave without ruining them… if so, do this just before assembling.)
Meanwhile, combine the onion, garlic, and oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick. Cook, stirring, over low heat until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and chili powder; cook for 30 seconds. Add the red and green pepper, corn, and carrot, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the beans, tomato, jalapeno, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the flavors are blended, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cheese.
Line up the tortillas on a flat surface, and assemble the burritos. On the off chance you’ve never made a burrito (horrors!), here’s how I do it: I smear the desired amount of sour cream directly onto the tortilla, making a line from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock, if you will – this prevents the whole uneven dollops dilemma. Then I add a spoonful of bean mixture on top of the sour cream, then a little lettuce, and a few cilantro leaves. I leave about an inch between the 6 o’clock end of the filling and the edge of the tortilla, then I fold that edge up to make a spill-proof bottom pocket thingy. Then I fold the sides over, forming the burrito, and lay it on the plate with the seam side down.
Pass the cerveza, por favor!
