Smothered Burritos

I do like trying new recipes and when I do, I usually follow the measurements. However, most of the dishes I make are ones that I have made up, or have tweaked from recipes that I have made a lot. Therefore, I don’t really measure things out. Most of my cooking is done by eye and palate. I usually add a little bit of this and that. I guess that’s why I haven’t posted many of my own recipes; I just don’t have time to figure out specific measurements. So, I’ve made a decision to post them anyway, and do my best to put measurements to them. Just keep in mind that most of these recipes are not exact, and feel free to change the amounts of just about anything according to what you have on hand, and your own palate.

Baked beans are practically a staple in the English household. They are basically white beans in a slightly sweet tomato sauce. When looking for the tinned beans in the supermarket, you’ll find half an aisle full of baked beans, and one small section devoted to all the other types of beans. You’ll see baked beans with an English breakfast, beans on toast, beans over a baked potato (jacket potatoes), among other things. I have tried to branch out a bit, and Smothered Burritos is just one of several uses I have found for these culinary gems. If you can’t find baked beans, you could use pork and beans, or any other tinned beans plus extra tomato sauce.

Smothered Burritos is a recipe that I have made quite a lot, and my boys love it! They are similar to Enchiladas, but the sauce I use is a simple tomato sauce and not a proper red chilli sauce. I usually make extra burritos and freeze them; which make a great quick lunch and easy to send to work with my hubby. Just pop them in the microwave for a few minutes, and you’ve got a healthy filling lunch. It’s also a great use for leftover rice.

Smothered Burritos

Filling

~1/2 pound lean beef mince/ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 400g/14 oz tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 400 g tin baked beans

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp dried oregano

Chili powder to taste

Salt and Pepper to taste

~1 to 1 ½ cups cooked rice

1/3 cup natural/plain yogurt

Tomato sauce

1 Tbs oil

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 chili pepper, minced (deseeded for less heat)

1 400g/16 oz can diced tomatoes

500 g sieved tomatoes/tomato sauce

1 handful chopped fresh coriander leaves/cilantro (or 1-2 tsp dried cilantro)

Tortillas

Grated cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C. In a large frying pan, brown the beef, remove from the pan. Add a little oil if necessary, and sauté the onions and bell pepper until soft. Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Add the beans, cumin, coriander, oregano and chili powder, and cook on medium, stirring occasionally until warmed through (about 5 minutes).

2. For the sauce, heat the oil in a small saucepan on medium heat. Sauté the garlic and chili for about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes , tomato sauce, and coriander/cilantro. Continue to cook until heat through. Season to taste.

3. In a large bowl (or in the frying pan if you have room), combine the meat mixture with the rice and yogurt. Add a bit of the red sauce for extra moisture.

4. Warm the tortillas to prevent them cracking when folding. Fill the tortillas and wrap them up. Place in a greased baking dish. Smother the burritos with the red sauce, and cover with grated cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted.

Mini meatloaves

In trying to use up some mince beef, I decided to try some mini meatloaves (similar to a recipe I tried a long time ago). But I needed to bulk it out and wanted to find some other uses for our cans of baked beans we have in our food storage. I didn't really measure things out, but I'll guesstimate. They turned out pretty good, and Noah loved them. He doesn't usually like baked beans, but he ate these!


8 ice cubes vegetable stock (~1 cup)
~ 1/2 cups Bulgar wheat
1 tin baked beans (sauce drained off)
1-2 Tbs mustard (I used Dijon) or to taste
1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce or to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
~1/2 pound beef mince

Preheat oven to 180 Celsius/350 F. Placed vegetable stock in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat, and add Bulgar wheat. Cover with lid, and let stand about 30 minutes or until the wheat has absorbed all the water, and the Bulgar wheat is soft. If there is excess water, place in sieve and squeeze water out. Place soaked Bulgar, drained baked beans, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in a medium bowl, and mix together. Taste mixture to test for desired flavour, then add the egg and beef mince. Mix together using your hands (This ensures it will mix evenly).

Shape mix into mini meatloaves on baking sheet (lined with baking paper or foil if desired). Cooking times will be different depending on the size of your meatloaves, but they should be firm and cooked all the way through.

We served ours with Thai sweet chili sauce on the side. You could glaze the top with chili sauce before baking as well.