Talk about fast food. This quickie meal uses high quality store-bought ingredients, pantry spices, and fresh veggies to deliver an improved version of a fast-food staple. Nothing fancy here, but when your schedule is frenzied, and you’re considering the drive-thru, consider this 20-minute DIY meal instead. Decrease the chipotle slightly if you’re serving less adventurous palates.
Ingredients
Spice mix
- 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile pepper (or less), to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Burritos
- 1/2 pound organic grass-fed ground beef (85% lean, or leaner)
- 1 can low-fat vegetarian refried beans (16 ounces), “salsa-style,” if available
- 1 tablespoon water
- 4 flour tortillas (8-1/2 to 9-inch)
- 1/2 cup Mexican-style cheese blend, shredded
- 1/4 cup light sour cream
- 2 limes, quartered
- 3 cups romaine lettuce, shredded, from one 8-ounce heart of romaine
- 1 avocado
Instructions
- Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat for about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare spice mix by combining all spices in a small bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add ground beef to skillet and brown, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Add the refried beans, water, and spice mix, lower heat slightly, and cook until flavors meld, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Turn off heat, and cover skillet.
- Heat each tortilla directly over the burner of a medium gas flame, turning two or three times with tongs, until puffed, speckled and pliable, about 45 seconds. (Alternatively, heat in a dry pan on an electric stove.) Repeat with remaining tortillas. Lay tortillas on a cutting board.
- Place 1/2 cup beef and bean mixture, 2 tablespoons cheese, 1 tablespoon sour cream, and a generous squeeze of lime down the center of each tortilla. Fold in the edges and roll up, burrito-style. Place seam side down on a plate. Repeat with remaining burritos.
- Serve burritos with plates of shredded lettuce and mashed avocado, both spritzed with lime.
Servings: 4
by Cheryl Sternman Rule
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