Spice It Up

Well tonight was Southwestern Chicken and Black Bean Burritos.........I was a bit perplexed with this one, because whenever possible, I try to do a vegetarian thing......not because I love animals, but more because I hate plants. Really it is because I have been trying to be more healthy in my life. Anyway I knew going into this blog that I would have to deal with eating some meat, so it is something i will just deal with. Anyway, as I have Belle and Sebastian playing in the background, let's get to the ingredients.

4 boneless chicken breasts(well, from the vegetarian info above, yep you guessed it, I had to buy these. I have not purchased meat in a while and the price of meat has gone up, boneless chicken breast is a costly cut, although chicken thighs are still cheap, I guess that is considered the "white trash" part of the bird, cause it is less then a buck a pound......but I went with the breast meat)

1 teaspoon ground cumin(have this on hand)

1 teaspoon chili powder(got it too)

two shakes of tobasco sauce(had to buy this, and to be honest, this is the first time I have ever bought this stuff)

1 tablespoon EVOO(got plenty)

1/2 medium spanish onion, chopped(ok, i had to buy this and I have no idea if it was a spanish onion or not......I spoke a little spanish to it, but got nothing back, but hey, an onion is an onion)

2 cloves garlic, minced(have this)

1 can, 15 ounces, black beans, drained and rinsed.(ok, I bought this and a small confession, I drained them, but I did not rinse them..........if you never see another post on here after tonight, you will know that I should have rinsed)

3 tables spoons of smoky bbq sauce(had to buy this, and I could not find one that said "smoky", so I grabbed a bottle that said 'hickory' and will hope for the best)

kosher salt and ground pepper to taste(got both of these, I have been a big supporter of kosher salt for any years..just ask alton brown)

1 heart of romain, shredded(had to buy it)

6 scallions, thinly sliced(had these from yesterdays meal)

2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped(had to buy them, I chopped them, but was far to lazy to seed them, plus really, who the hell seeds a tomato anyway?)

4 large flour tortillas, flavored or plain(bought plain ones because I have never seen a flavored tortilla)


Rub chicken with cumin, chili powder and tobasco sauce(should say I managed to get chili powder in my eye, it made for a couple of real exciting moments in the kitchen). Heat a griddle pan(I used a skillet) to high. Cook chicken breast on each side 4 minutes and remove from heat.

While chicken is cooking, in a other skillet, add the EVOO and cook the onions and garlic until the onions are soft(about 4 mins). add beans and bbq sauce. Chop cooked chicken breast and drop into the bean mixture. Heat mixture through. Season with salt and pepper.

Place tortilla on plate, pile with chicken and beans in center. Top with lettuce, scallions and tomatoes. Wrap, roll and repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. serve with chips and salsa.

The verdict:

Ok, I ate one and it was pretty good, I think i would have liked it better with re fried beans and sour cream, maybe some cheese, but that is because I like to Americanize mexican food to the point that it is basically taco bell. The rest of the dish, I gave to my neighbors and they really liked them alot and praised my cooking skills...........if they only knew how easy it was, as it just took 30 mins.

Overall, a good dish.

until tomorrow..........