Lately, I’ve been getting kind of sick of my lunch options. I usually bring a sandwich to lunch or leftovers and probably once or twice a week I grab a bite at a local spot. My office is right downtown so if I’m going out it usually isn’t a problem to find something yummy and delicious. But those sandwich days…

Sometimes a sandwich isn’t enough.

And so let me introduce my new favorite friend: The one pound rice and bean burrito.

I’ve made breakfast burritos before that are much smaller and filled with egg and cheese, but these guys are for lunch purposes. Super cheap to make, easy to transport and reheat, and very filling.

The base for these burritos is a spicy rice and bean mixture with three different kinds of beans plus some onions and peppers. Layer that together with some simple guacamole, cheese, and hot sauce and you are ready to rock.

One Pound Burritos

Yield: Makes 8 burritos.

Prep Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients:

8 large tortillas. I used the biggest I could find.
12-16 ounces cheese, grated
2 avocados
1/4 Cup sour cream

Rice and Beans:
1.5 cups uncooked long grain rice (no instant stuff)
3 cans of beans.
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2-3 jalapenos, de-seeded and diced.
2 Teaspoons paprika
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper (optional)
Large pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Heat oil in a 4 or 5 quart pan. Once oil is hot, add the onions and peppers and sauté for a few minutes.

2) Add the rice and stir for another minute. Once the rice is hot, add about 3 – 4 cups of water. Check the instructions on the rice for exact amounts of water. You can also use chicken stock or veggie stock if you want.

3) Drain the beans and add each can to the mix. No need to rinse the beans really, just try to drain off some of the extra liquid.

4) Stir everything together, add the spices, cover and let simmer on low for 20 minutes or so.

5) Pull it off the heat and let it cool which will probably take at least an hour. It needs to be room temperature before you start filling the burritos.

6) Mix together the crushed avocados and sour cream.

7) Grate the cheese and get any other toppings you want to add ready to go.

8) Take a tortilla and stick it in the microwave for literally 5 seconds to soften it up. Or you can warm them up in a low heat oven if you want.

9) Spread on a tablespoon or two of guac, followed by about 3/4 of a cup to a cup of rice and beans. You want to leave about an inch of room on two sides and about three inches of room on the other sides. This will make it easy to roll later.

10) Pile on the cheese and hot sauce.

11) To properly fold the burrito, fold the short ends up and then roll it over so that the short ends are tucked under the long ends.

12) To store the burritos, double wrap them in foil then wrap in plastic wrap, then once more in foil. Pop them into some gallon bags (2 per bag is all that will fit due to their largeness) and stick them in the freezer until you're hungry!

13) To re-heat microwave on high for about 3 minutes and then flip it over and nuke it for another 3 minutes. That should get the cheese properly and evenly melted.

Making the Rice and Beans

Start off by heating your oil in a large pan with lid. I would say you need at least a 4 or 5 quart pan for this. When your oil is hot, add your onions and peppers and saute for a few minutes.

Then add your rice and stir for another minute. Once the rice is hot, add about 3 – 4 cups of water. Check the instructions on your rice for exact amounts of water. You can also use chicken stock or veggie stock if you want. Then drain your beans and add each can to the mix. No need to rinse the beans really, just try to drain off some of the extra liquid.

Stir everything together, add your spices, cover and let simmer on low for 20 minutes or so.

After that 20 minutes, my rice needed to cook a bit longer, but it had absorbed all the water, so I added about another cup, gave it another stir and covered it again for 10 minutes. Your rice should have a small bite to it but still be pretty soft. If there is one thing I don’t like in a burrito it is mushy rice so try not to over cook this stuff.

Once it’s done, pull it off the heat and let it cool which will probably take at least an hour. It needs to be room temperature before you start filling your burritos.

In the meantime…

While your rice and beans are cooling down, you can do some other prep work like mixing together your crushed avocados and sour cream.

Some people might be inclined to make a more substantial guacamole. For burritos, I like my guacamole to be pretty creamy and smooth. Almost like mayo on a sandwich. It’s personal preference though so if you prefer the full deal then go for it by all means.

You may also want to grate your cheese and get any other toppings you want to add ready to go.

Making the burritos

Making the burritos is really easy once you have your rice and beans done. Take a tortilla and stick it in the microwave for literally 5 seconds to soften it up. Or you can warm them up in a low heat oven if you want. If you don’t warm your tortilla a bit it will be prone to tears when you are rolling it. That’s why all the good burrito shops have the heated press things that they put your tortilla on before filling.

The great thing about these burritos is how customized they can get. I started by spreading on a tablespoon or two of my guac, followed by about 3/4 of a cup to a cup of rice and beans. You want to leave about an inch of room on two sides and about three inches of room on the other sides. This will make it easy to roll later.

Then pile on your cheese and hot sauce. I love experimenting with different combinations. For this batch I used two different kinds of cheese and four different kinds of hot sauce that I had laying around. This means that every burrito has a completely different taste to it and it is always a bit of a surprise when I bite into my lunch.

Folding the Burrito

To properly fold the burrito, fold the short ends up and then roll it over so that the short ends are tucked under the long ends. That will keep your burrito from busting open. If that was hard to envision, check out this video and this one. Either can give you the basic rolling technique I like to use. The trick is to have a warm, soft tortilla. If you have that and leave yourself some room around the edges, you’ll be just fine.

Storing the Burritos

Because we are going to freeze these, I like to double wrap them in foil. This should keep out any freezer burn without a problem for a month or so. If you want to go crazy, you can wrap once in foil, then wrap in plastic wrap, then once more in foil. They would keep like that for a long time.

Once i have all of my burritos rolled up and ready to go, I pop them into some gallon bags (2 per bag is all that will fit due to their largeness) and stick them in the freezer until I get hungry!

Then all I have to do is microwave them at work or wherever and I have a spicy, cheesy burrito that can power me through the day. I microwave mine on hi for about 3 minutes and then flip it over and nuke it for another 3 minutes. That should get the cheese properly and evenly melted.

Needless to say, my lunches are no longer boring!