Tried and Liked: Cranberry Chicken Wraps

Healthy Cooking, August/September 2010 issue, had a lovely recipe for a chicken wrap with diced rotisserie chicken, cranberry, feta, diced apple, and baby spinach. I made one change: substituting fat-free plain Greek yogurt for the Miracle Whip. Quick to make and very delicious. And no need to heat up the oven to make dinner during the summer! Yield: 3 wraps.

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Freezer Burritos

Makes 10 burritos. Wrap and freeze these for an easy weekday lunch. Eat fruit for dessert (such as 1 plum or 1 sliced peach).

Combine the following ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 3 cups black beans (2 cans, 15 oz each, rinsed and drained)
• 8 oz cooked chicken, diced
• 4 ounces shredded cheese, any kind
• 1 cup (8 oz) mild salsa

Divide filling evenly among 10 whole-wheat flour tortillas. Fold burrito. Wrap in double layers of plastic wrap and freeze. To reheat, microwave an unwrapped burrito on Medium power for 2 to 3 minutes until heated through.

Chicken Cutlets in Salsa

Cook’s Notes: Shredded chicken simmered in salsa is a great start to making your own burritos. This is an easy way to cook chicken tenders with a lot of flavor. We used a medium pineapple salsa and served the chicken with warm black beans and corn tortillas. You could cook these in the crockpot, but this dish is ready in 35 minutes when cooked on the stove.

1.25 lb package chicken tenders
1 cup salsa, any kind
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tsp minced garlic

Place chicken and salsa in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, then add the cumin and garlic. Let simmer for 15 minutes.

With a fork, start pulling the chicken meat apart into thin strings.

Cover the pulled chicken meat and sauce, and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. Add a bit of water if the mixture gets too thick. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir together.

• Indian Variation: Instead of salsa, use 15 oz jar Trader Joe’s Masala Simmer Sauce, 1 oz of water (to rinse the jar), 1 tsp cumin powder, and 1 tsp garlic powder.

Source: Adapted from allrecipes

Sweet Potato Burritos – Small Batch

Cook’s Notes: The original recipe makes 10 cups of filling (4 cups potato and 6 cups beans and vegetables). While it is delicious, sometimes you just don’t want to roll 18 to 20 burritos in a night. Sometimes that much leftover food is just overwhelming. So I scaled the recipe down to make just 4 burritos. The burritos freeze well and can be reheated in the microwave. This recipe is loaded with all my favorite vegetables.

1 sweet potato (golden yam), scrubbed (to yield 1 cup cooked)
2 cups baby spinach (2 oz raw)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tsp minced garlic
2 scallions, sliced
4 oz sliced mushrooms (half of an 8-oz box)
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained (half of a 15-oz can)
1/2 cup yellow corn kernels

2 teaspoons Mild Chili Spice Mix
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 Tablespoon prepared mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
4 (10-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
2/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Pierce sweet potato (golden yam) all over with a fork. Microwave using the Potato setting (1100-watt microwave). When the potato is cooked through and very tender, carefully remove its peel. Scoop the cooked sweet potato into a bowl. You should have about 1 cup.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the spinach until it is wilted. Set aside.

Heat the oil in the skillet, and sauté the garlic until soft. Add scallions and mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes.

Stir in beans and corn. Add cooked spinach and sweet potato chunks. Stir after each addition. Sweet potato chunks will mash as you stir. Keep stirring until mixture is heated through.

Stir in the chili spice mix, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper, and soy sauce. Stir in the shredded cheese.

Divide filling into four portions, and place one portion of filling on each warm flour tortilla. Top with additional shredded cheese and salsa, if desired. Fold up the tortillas burrito style.

Serve with optional garnishes: plain non-fat yogurt, additional chopped scallions, and salsa.

Variations:

• Burrito bowl: Dish filling into a bowl. Serve with a tossed salad.

• Make ahead: Wrap individual burritos and freeze. Reheat the frozen burrito in the microwave, starting with 2 minutes on High. Turn burrito over, and heat for an additional 30 seconds if needed.

BBQ Chicken Burritos with Corn and Black Beans

Cook’s Notes: Awesome Southwest soul food. Serve with a side salad or cooked vegetables to round out the meal.

1 cooked rotisserie chicken (about 4 cups diced chicken)
2/3 cup prepared barbecue sauce (made without corn syrup)
1/3 cup sour cream
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained and rinsed
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (half of an 8-oz package)
6 large whole-wheat tortillas (such as Mission brand Multi-Grain Wraps), or 10-inch burrito size or 12-inch size

Skin chicken. Take the chicken off the bone and cut into chunks (about 4 cups).

Combine the barbecue sauce and sour cream in a medium bowl. Stir well to combine.

Add the chicken cubes, black beans, corn, and shredded cheese. Stir well to combine and coat all ingredients evenly with the sauce.

Warm the tortillas briefly. Heat the chicken mixture briefly in the microwave.
Divide chicken mixture evenly among tortillas (use 1 cup filling each). Fold sides and roll up into burritos. Serve warm.

Alternate method:
Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Turn stove to medium-high heat, and place chicken cubes, barbecue sauce, sour cream, beans, and corn in the skillet. Stir to combine. Cook until hot, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the shredded cheese, and then assemble the burritos.

Source: Adapted from recipes by Relish and family.go.

Broccoli Bean Burritos: Big Batch

Cook’s Notes: Nutritionist Joy Bauer inspired me to add broccoli to chicken and bean burritos. I scaled up a single burrito recipe to make a batch of burritos — however, this recipe makes a lot of burritos. Using 1/2 cup filling per tortilla, we rolled 10 burritos and had 2 cups of filling left. Luckily, the combination of chicken, beans, vegetables, and cheese is delicious.

A 15-oz can of black beans yields about 1.5 cups beans. We opened 3 cans of beans, rinsed them, measured out 3 cups, and had about 1/4 cup of beans left.

Use any vegetables you like. Recommended vegetables for Bean & Veggie Burritos from many other recipes and menus include bell pepper, broccoli and red pepper, carrot, mushrooms, onion, yellow squash, diced tomato, and zucchini.

Ingredients:

• 14 oz bag frozen mixed vegetables (yellow squash, green beans, carrots, onion, and red bell pepper): yields about 2 cups cooked vegetables
• 11 oz bag frozen broccoli and red pepper: yields about 2-1/3 cups cooked vegetables
• 3 cups cooked black beans (rinsed)
• 2 cups (16 oz by weight) cooked rotisserie chicken, about half the chicken
• 2 cups (8 oz package) shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup salsa, any kind
• 10 whole-wheat tortillas

Cook the frozen vegetables according to package instructions. Place vegetables in a large bowl.

Open 3 cans of black beans, rinse them, and measure out 3 cups of beans into a separate bowl. Heat the beans in the microwave for 1 minute on High until heated through. Add beans to vegetables.

Skin chicken. Take the chicken off the bone and cut into chunks. Add chicken to the bowl with the vegetables and beans.

Add cheese and salsa; stir to combine well.

Place 1/2 cup filling on each tortilla. Fold in sides and roll up.

Freeze any remaining filling for another use.

VARIATIONS:
Joy Bauer recommends individual burritos made with just 1 whole wheat tortilla, “unlimited steamed broccoli”, 1/4 cup black beans, 1/4 cup diced chicken, 1/4 cup shredded cheese, and 2 T guacamole or salsa.

SMALLER BATCH of broccoli burritos:

• 1 cooked rotisserie chicken (about 4 cups diced chicken)
• 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2-1/3 cups cooked broccoli and red pepper (11 oz bag frozen)
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (half of an 8-oz package)
• 1 cup salsa
• 6 large whole-wheat tortillas (such as Mission brand Multi-Grain Wraps), or 10-inch burrito size or 12-inch size

Use 1 cup filling per tortilla: fold sides and roll into burritos.

Sook and Jimmy: Crab and Rice Wraps

Cook’s Notes: Ready in 45 minutes. Use 1 cup filling in each tortilla. These wraps (burritos) freeze well. Burritos are not required: We have also served Sook and Jimmy rice as a main dish with tossed salad. Yes, this dish is also similar to Dinner Rice Salad with seafood, although you could use diced, cooked chicken or even canned tuna if you don’t have crab on hand.

Rice
2 cups water
1.5 tsp olive oil
3/4 cup white rice — makes 1.5 cups cooked rice

Spinach
2 bags (9 oz each) fresh spinach leaves, washed

Onions
1 cup diced onion
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Mushrooms
2 tsp olive oil
2 boxes (8 oz each) sliced white mushrooms
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/3 cup medium dry sherry

Crab sauce
8 oz tub garden vegetable cream cheese, softened
2 cans (6 oz each) fancy white crabmeat, drained
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp lemon juice
Grated nutmeg

8 sun-dried tomato and basil wraps (or 10-inch or 11-inch tortillas)

Make the rice: Bring 2 cups water and 1.5 tsp olive oil to a boil. Stir in the rice, return to a boil, and cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the water is absorbed. Put prepared rice in a large bowl.

While the rice cooks, prepare the remaining ingredients as follows:

Coat a nonstick skillet lightly with cooking spray. Cook 1 bag of spinach leaves at a time. Cook spinach over medium heat until wilted, stirring often. Transfer cooked spinach to a colander. Drain well, and press all the water out. Put drained spinach in the bowl with the rice.

Coat the skillet with cooking spray again. Add onions, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook onions over medium heat until they are tender, 7 to 9 minutes. Put onions in the bowl with the rice and spinach.

Wipe the skillet clean. Add 2 tsp olive oil, sliced mushrooms, minced garlic, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook mushrooms over medium-high heat until they are evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the sherry and cook about 2 more minutes.

Reduce heat to low, add cream cheese to the skillet with the mushrooms. Stir until the cream cheese melts, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir crabmeat in, stirring to break up lumps. Add Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and nutmeg to taste. Stir well.

Pour mushroom-crab sauce over the rice, spinach, and onions in the bowl. Stir well to combine ingredients.

Place 1 cup filling on each tortilla and wrap. (If this overstuffs your wraps, reduce the amount of filling in each wrap. Extra filling makes an excellent dish on its own and can be frozen.)
Adapted from Wraps: Easy Recipes for Handheld Meals (Paperback, 1997) by Mary Corpening Barber, Sara Corpening, and Lori Lyn Narlock.

South by Southwest: Black-Eyed Pea Burritos

Cook’s Notes: What to do with leftover black-eyed peas from New Year’s Day? The smallest amount I know how to cook, 1 lb dried, yields about 7 cups of cooked peas.

I made burritos with flavors of the American South. A key source was the most excellent (and accurately named) Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos, recipe by Karena (6 cups beans replaced with 3 cups black-eyed peas, 2 cups tomatoes, and 2 cups corn). You could cut corn to 1 cup, but the balance of vegetables is good as it is. The filling is like deluxe mashed potatoes loaded with extra vegetables. Needless to say, this recipe makes a lot of mixture (like 12 cups at least). Luckily, the burritos freeze well and can be reheated in the microwave.

Using 1/2 cup mixture in each burrito will fill 18 tortillas. We rolled 12 burritos and then ate the remaining filling as a side dish with turkey sausage. These burritos are also excellent with cooked turkey sausage or diced rotisserie chicken added to the filling.

2 sweet potatoes (golden yams), scrubbed
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 c chopped onion
2 tsp minced garlic
3 cups cooked black-eyed peas
14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups (8 oz) frozen yellow corn kernels, thawed (half a 16-oz bag)
2 Tablespoons Mild Chili Spice Mix
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 to 3 Tablespoons prepared mustard
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
12 (10-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Pierce sweet potatoes (golden yams) all over with a fork. Microwave using the Potato setting (this took more than 11 minutes in an 1100-watt microwave). When the potatoes are cooked through and very tender, carefully remove the peel. Scoop the cooked sweet potato into a bowl. You should have about 4 cups.

Heat oil in a medium skillet, and sauté onion and garlic in until soft. Stir in black-eyed peas and their juice. Add stewed tomatoes, corn, and sweet potato chunks. Stir after each addition. Sweet potato chunks will mash as you stir. Gradually heat until warm. Stir in the chili spice mix, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper, and soy sauce. Stir in the shredded cheese. If filling is too thick, add water a bit at a time as needed, until mixture is the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Place 1/2 cup of filling on each warm flour tortilla. Top with additional shredded cheese if desired. Fold up the tortillas burrito style. Note: Bill Grady has an excellent online tutorial on how to fold a burrito.

Makes at least 12 burritos with leftover filling. Serve with sour cream, chopped green onions, and salsa.

Variations:

• Burrito bowl: Dish filling into a bowl. Serve with a salad.
• Baked burritos: Bake burritos at 350F for 12 minutes before serving.
• Make ahead: Wrap individual burritos and freeze. Reheat the frozen burrito in the microwave, starting with 2 minutes on High. Turn burrito over, and heat for an additional 30 seconds if needed.

Recipe sources: Additional inspiration and ideas came from a Black-Eyed Pea Salad recipe and a Black-Eyed Pea Salsa recipe.

Menu: Vegetarian Comfort Food

Cook’s Notes: You can easily make this a vegan meal by using soy cheese in the sweet potatoes. Leftover creamed spinach or saag paneer also go great with this meal. The trio of red beans, orange sweet potato, and yellow rice in the bowl is really beautiful. Combine leftover red beans and sweet potatoes to make tasty burrito filling. Curry dishes are a natural match to the rice as well.

Menu:

• Upscale Yellow Rice and Red Beans (Spiced Coconut Rice and Moosewood Red Beans)
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Cheese: Very simple. Two ingredients: 2 sweet potatoes (golden yams) and 1 c shredded cheese (I used a blend of Colby and Monterey Jack)

Prep Plan:

• Pierce 2 sweet potatoes (golden yams) all over with a fork. Microwave, using the Potato setting (this took more than 11 minutes in an 1100-watt microwave).
• While the sweet potatoes cook, start the rice.
• After you turn the rice down to simmer, start the beans.
• When the potatoes are cooked through and very tender, carefully remove the peel. Scoop the cooked sweet potato into a bowl and mash with 1 c shredded cheese. Add ground black pepper to taste.

Burrito Bowl

1 c uncooked rice (to yield 2 c rice)
2 c cooked rotisserie chicken (about half the chicken)
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 c shredded cheddar cheese (8 oz package)
3/4 c salsa, any kind
1/2 c pitted black olives, diced
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Prepare rice according to package directions.

Skin chicken. Take the chicken off the bone and cut into chunks.

Combine the chicken chunks and remaining ingredients in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Stir well to combine. Heat on High for 60 seconds, and stir.

Add cooked rice to the mixture. Stir well to combine. Heat on High for 30 seconds, and stir until cheese is melted and mixture is heated through.

Serve warm with salad. Optional garnishes: Sour cream, more black olives, or guacamole. Serves 6.

Note: Excellent quick meal, as you can prep everything else while the rice cooks. This dish is also great the next day, and it reheats well. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days. You could also use this mixture to fill 6 tortillas and make burritos.