Recipe: Fajita Burritos

I’ve been back in the office-job-working-world for 2 months now. I’m only working 3 full days a week, but man oh man… my hats off to all you full time working mommas. It’s hard work!
Now that my life has become even more of a juggling act, and my house looks like a 3 ring circus, I’ve been trying to make dinners at home as much as possible. The extra money from this job isn’t for fun stuff, it’s for paying off stuff and saving. Geez, I sound like such a Nazi…Extra food eaten out is not in the budget, as much as I’d like it to be… Of course, we fall off the wagon a couple days here and there because Dangit! I’m tired and maybe I want to throw a little hissy fit about not wanting to make dinner that night…
This was an attempt to jumpstart dinners at home again. It’s ridiculously easy, we had leftovers for lunches for a few days, and it was ready in under 30 min. Best part is that you just use what you’ve got! You know how much I love doing that!

Now that grocery shopping is a little more time restricted, I’ve been trying to make a thorough list and coupon clip like a mad woman to save as much as possible every trip, especially since our trips are larger and further in between. I saved $125 at the grocery store last week. WHAT?! Yeah. I know. Mind bottling. Coupons baby. Coupons. I’ve also been trying to keep an eye out for meat on sale. We are a bunch of carnies… carnivores, not carnival folks, in spite of the circus jokes… If it doesn’t have meat in it, its not a meal. So I cruise by the meat department and see what’s on sale. And I grab 2. One for now, one for the freezer, for later. This makes a last minute meal prep a little easier because we have something on hand already. No last minute grocery trips saves me time and money. I like both of those things. A LOT.

I had picked up a family pack of chicken breast tenders. I had lots of leftover refried beans that I made over the weekend (You can get my recipe here), and one of my favorite meals was born. I’m pretty sure I was Mexican in another life because I love their food a lot. Like, A LOT, A LOT. Throw this meal in your bag of tricks when you’re in a bind!

Fajita Burritos

Ingredients
Chicken breasts (or any other meat you might have. Flank steak is also tasty. Ground beef or turkey would work well too.)
Refried beans (black beans would work too)
Onion – cut lengthwise into strips
Bell pepper – cut lengthwise into strips
Rice, steamed
Cheese, shredded
Sour Cream, optional
Avocados, for guacamole
Cilantro
Salsa

To make the chicken, I used this Four Step Chicken Recipe. I usually add a little cumin or cayenne to the dredge mixture to give it a little flavor.
You don’t want to mess with the chicken too much while it’s cooking. The more you move it, the more moisture it loses, the dryer it gets. Yuck. Once it’s in the pan, let it sit for a couple of minutes before you touch it. While the chicken is cooking, I put the refried beans in small saucepan on low heat to reheat them. I sliced my onion and bell pepper, and set them aside. Then I whipped up some guacamole. Mash it, add some lime juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, you’re good to go.
After the chicken is cooked and set aside to rest, I use the same pan I cooked the chicken in for the veggies. I drizzle some olive oil in and toss the sliced onions and bell peppers in. I cook them down for a few minutes.
That’s it for the cooking. And you only dirtied 2 pans! Love it! Easy cookin’ and easy clean up.
Just assemble on a tortilla or make a burrito bowl, add a margarita on the rocks, and enjoy!

Have you tried the Kirkland margarita mix from Costco?! It’s only $6 for 2 big jugs (that’s what she said), and it’s delicious! We might have gone through one whole jug in a week. Maybe… Probably.

It’s a great go-to meal because it gets mixed up every time, depending on what we have in the house. No bell pepper, no problem. Maybe caramelize the onions instead of just a quick sauté. Use salmon or flank steak, or any other kind of meat you have on hand. Or, GASP!, go without meat and just have a BRC (beans, rice, cheese) burrito! You won’t get stuck in the Tuesday-night-is-meatloaf-night rut with this one.

What’s your go to meal when you’re in a bind? You forgot to take the sausage out of the freezer to defrost, what do you do?