Frozen Burritos

Remember black bean salsa? And the best pot roast? Just wrap those up in a tortilla with some cheese and rice and you have a delicious burrito. You can put whatever you want in them. They're perfect to pack for lunches. 

When I assemble, I like to keep everything in a nice line going down the middle of the tortilla so it's easier to wrap. 

I learned how to fold burritos from my good friend Adam Heinrichsen. Here's what you do. First, fold in the sides that are at the ends of your line. 

Hold those ends down and fold one of the remaining sides over.

Wrap it up tightly and tuck it under as you go.

Keep wrapping it until it's a burrito!

Place all your burritos in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet. Put them in the freezer until they are completely frozen. I'm not really sure how long it takes. I left mine in for about 3 hours to be on the safe side. Once they're frozen, take them out and wrap them individually in foil or plastic wrap. I made half of them vegetarian. If you make any different flavors, be sure to label them. Put them back in the freezer and when you want to eat one, unwrap it and heat it in the microwave at 70% power for about a minute and a half. 

Better-Than-My-Mom's Pot Roast

Sorry, mom. I heard it from a very unbiased source. He happens to also be my husband. I tried really hard to get a good photo but no matter what I did, it looked like a piece of poop. 


My husband went back to work this week. We work pretty much opposite schedules now and he doesn't want to cook. I'm trying a whole bunch of new things that can be made ahead of time. This worked out perfectly because I just left in it the crock pot when I went to work and it was ready for him when he got home. And he loved it. And it was my first pot roast. Just sayin...


Here's where I found it. 

Ingredients:

1 (2 to 3 pound) blade cut chuck roast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons cumin
Vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
5 to 6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup tomato juice
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup cocktail olives, drained and broken

Coat a heavy skillet with olive oil and heat over high heat for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, rub both sides of meat with the salt and cumin. When the pan is very hot, brown the roast on all sides and remove.

Add just a little more vegetable oil to the pan then add the onion and garlic. Stir constantly until onion is softened, being careful not to brown the garlic. Add the tomato juice, vinegar and olives. Bring to a boil and reduce the liquid by half.

Add half of the tomato juice mixture to the bottom of a crockpot. Add the roast, and then top with the remaining mixture. Turn crockpot to high for one hour. Then reduce heat to low and cook for another 4 to 6 hours.

Here's the part my husband had to do. This was easy enough even for him. 

Remove the meat from the crockpot, cover and let rest for at least 1/2 hour.

Drain all of the liquid from the crockpot and put in a blender or food processor. Puree.

Slice meat thinly, or pull apart with a fork. Serve with sauce over egg noodles or rice.


Since we only have one meat-eater in our house, I cut up what he didn't eat and put it in burritos.

Black Bean Pie

This didn't turn out as pretty as I had hoped. My mother in law taught me how to flute the edges of pie crust but I wasn't nearly as good as she was so I didn't really bother. Sorry Laurie! I adapted this from Sing for your supper.


Ingredients
2 9 inch pie crusts
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup salsa
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 flour tortillas
1/2 cup sour cream


Preheat oven to 350. Press one of the pie crusts into the bottom of a pie pan. Mix the beans, salsa, and corn together. Spread 1/3 of the mixture onto the pie crust. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese and cilantro on top. Place one of the tortillas on top and press down so that it's flat. Spread half the sour cream on top of the tortilla. Repeat the layers ending with cheese and cilantro. Put the second pie crust on top and seal the edges. Cut a few slits in the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. 

Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower

I accidentally  snacked on most of this before the rest of dinner was ready and before my husband got home. Whoops. 


Ingredients
1 cauliflower cut into florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup bread crumbs 
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Over the Edge Herbed Spinach  (Optional)


Pre-heat oven to 425. Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil and spread in a single layer in a baking pan lined with foil. Bake 20-30 minutes or until cauliflower is desired tenderness. I like mine a little crunchy still. Mix the bread crumbs and melted butter. Spread over the top of the cauliflower. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake another 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper and Over the Edge Herbed Spinach. Eat all of it before dinner. Especially the crispy cheesy bites at the bottom of the pan. 

Nutella S'more Pockets

You need these immediately. I have seen a whole bunch of s'more recipes and Nutella recipes lately. I combined them all and this is what I came up with. It's possible that I over-filled them a little bit. I don't mind. Also, shout out to my husband for being the best camera man! 


Ingredients:
1 puff pastry sheet
1/2 cup Nutella 
2 graham crackers 
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1 Hershey's bar


1. Pre-heat oven to 350. Cut the puff pastry sheet into 4 squares. Spread Nutella on each square.

2. Add graham crackers. You will be folding them in half so try to keep the graham crackers on just one side.

3. Add marshmallows. I didn't have mini marshmallows so I cut big ones into quarters. It was messy. 

Zoe loves these. Look how happy she is.

4. Break the Hershey's bar apart and put 2 pieces on each pastry.

5. Fold them in half and press the edges together. Bake for 20-30 minutes Or until golden brown. 

Vegetarian Chili

This recipe makes a ton of chili. Invite lots of people over when you make it. Or don't and eat chili all week.


Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can vegetarian baked beans
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies or jalapeños
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 stalks of celery, thinly sliced 
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon parsley
Shredded cheddar cheese


1. Place all ingredients in a slow cooker. Stir until everything is well mixed. Cook on high for 3-5 hours or on low 5-8 hours. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and serve with cornbread. Mine just came from a box. 

A Garden

I've never gardened before. I had no clue what I was doing. But my boo helped a lot. 

Just hoe-in' 

He's much better at this than I am. 

Diggin's holes. I look like a huge dork with a tape measure clipped to my pocket. 

Plantin' bulbs.

Gardening is very hard work. And this is all it looks like. I'll update when we have plants.