Burrito-less Burritos 3 Ways
Among my childish eating habits is a dislike of vegetables, cooked vegetables in particular. I tend to enjoy salad veggies – cucumbers, avocados, lettuce, corn, and shredded carrots. I like tomatoes, but only if they are warm. Put a plate of green beans in front of me, however, and I immediately flashback to a 6 year old me sitting in an empty kitchen in front of my plate, being told I can leave when I finish eating them. Ugh. One of my favorite parts of being an adult is the fact that I will never have to eat green beans again.
This summer, however, I was thinking about vegetables and how I can add more variety to our vegetable consumption when I realized that I love vegetable burritos. Black beans, peppers, onions, corn, tomatoes (warm!).
So I broke out the skillet and created a mish-mosh of those same vegetables. I then, of course, topped them with cheddar cheese and served them with sour cream and tortilla chips. Deliciousness! This has become a staple veggie dish for us and, with the addition of some thin sliced chicken breast, a complete dinner.
The recipe here is the version I make, but feel free to substitute vegetables, to leave out the chicken for a vegetarian meal, or to change up or eliminate the cheese.
We love this dish so much, that I have made three different versions:
Vegetables and chicken over rice
Vegetables and chicken with sour cream and tortilla chips
Vegetables and chicken fried up in a tortilla and served with sour cream.
Let me know about your experiments!
Happy – and healthy – eating.
Burrito-less Burritos 3 Ways
Ingredients
- 1 lb thin sliced chicken breast
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion
- 1 red pepper
- 1 medium zucchini sliced
- 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 1 8.75 oz can of whole kernel corn
- 1 15.5 oz can of black beans
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- salt & pepper
- sour cream
- torilla chips
- tortillas & 1 tbsp butter If making the quesadilla version
Instructions
- Prepare all of the ingredients before you begin cooking: dice the onion and red pepper; slice the zucchini; drain and thoroughly rinse the black beans.
- Heat one tbsp of olive oil in a skillet.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on each side of the chicken breasts.
- Cook the chicken breasts in the oil on medium high heat until cooked through. This was about 5 minutes on each side for me.
- Remove the cooked chicken to a plate.
- Add another tbsp of olive oil to the same skillet.
- Cooked the diced onions and red pepper until soft.
- Add the sliced zucchini.
- Pour off half the liquid from the tomatoes and add to the veggies.
- Cook until the zucchini is slightly softened (but don't let it get mushy!)
- Add the drained corn and drained black beans.
- Sprinkle with 1 tsp of paprika and salt and pepper to taste.
- While the veggies are heating through, cut the chicken into strips lengthwise. Cut the strips in half in the other direction so you have manageable pieces for eating.
- Add the chicken to the vegetables. Lower the heat and add the shredded cheddar cheese. Cover and let the cheese melt.
- Serve with a side of tortilla chips and sour cream. You can also serve over rice – also with a dollop of sour cream.
- If you want to make a quesadilla out of these, heat one tbsp of butter to a clean skillet (butter will make them crispy). Add a tortilla to the heated butter (start at medium high heat but turn it down as necessary to avoid burning). Drop several large spoonfuls of the chicken and veggie combo onto one side of the tortilla. Fold the empty side over the full side. Carefully flip the quesadilla over to cook the other side. Each side should be crispy and golden. Tuck in any veggies that escape and serve with – you guessed it – sour cream. Add butter to the skillet each time you make a new quesadilla.
