Kids Lunches Galore - Burritos!

And so the fall begins, and school days make our weeks seem like we live on fast forward again. So far so good!

I have prepared some lunches for the freezer to facilitate the daily routine, but also to make sure that our boys eat good home made and non-processed food. It feels good to know every ingredient they have in their lunch box... Here is how I make burritos - the longest of all recipes! A bit tedious because I make everything from scratch (no canned beans or commercial salsa), but once the fillings are prepared it's easy to make a couple of dozens.

Chicken Burritos
-First, I cook a whole bag of black beans. Make sure to not put any salt or spices in the water when you cook dried beans, it would prevent them from getting nice and soft. Once they are cooked and cooled, put the beans in your blender with a little water - start with about half a cup and add more if needed - you are looking for the consistency of a creamy hummus. Season with some lemon juice, salt, one or two cloves of garlic, cumin, and chili powder to taste - blend until smooth.
-While the beans are simmering, I cook one whole chicken in the oven. I fill it with chopped onions and two or three heaping tablespoons of salt - rubbing the skin as well with salt and a little olive oil. It will eventually be deboned when cooked, so there is no need to roast it - keep it covered until it's fully cooked, and debone it. Chop the meat in small pieces and set aside.
-Still while the beans are simmering, and while the chicken is cooking - I cook a pot of rice, parboiled is fine, and I also season the rice with salt, chili powder and cook it in half water or chicken broth, and half tomato coulis.
-Finally, I make my own salsa by simply pan frying one chopped white onion, and once the onion is starting to soften - I add four to six chopped tomatoes (which I have emptied). A little salt, a little origano, and a little lemon juice, et voilà! But commercial salsa is just fine of course, especially organic salsa.
-Grate some cheese (medium cheddar), and line-up all the above ingredients to get ready for the assembly!
I use the large tortillas - easier to manipulate. I place 4 tortillas side by side and fill them in this order :
-Spread a spponfull of beans in the centre of the tortilla, leaving a wide edge all around (to avoid messy rolling and folding...).
-on the half closer to you, form a thick line of rice, and chicken (much like a thick caseless sausage).
-Top the rice and chicken with some salsa, and cheese.
To roll them : Lift the edge of the tortilla that is closer to you, and cover the line of filling - tightening it by pulling delicately towards you - and roll it forward about half a roll. Now fold both sides inward to enclose the sides, and finish rolling - still tightening by pulling the roll delicately towards you. It might take a bit of practice... adjusting the amount of content as you progress from one burrito to another. Thick is good - but too thick is impossible to seal properly.
Once they are rolled, I place 4 to 6 burritos in a large zip-loxk bag, and cool them in the fridge. Once they are cold, I transfer them to the freezer.
To heat them up, I place two frozen burritos in the micro wave for about 5 minutes, and transfer them to the oven at 350F for about 15 to 20 minutes - for a golden and crisp finish.

Buen provecho!