RECIPE: Friday Bean Burritos & Corn Pudding

For some reason, we haven't yet had these yummy bean burritos for dinner on a Friday this Lent, but they are really good. The only caveat in this recipe is that you have to make sure you buy the vegetarian-style refried beans because regular refried beans are made with lard. I don't know if the lard used in the refried beans (which makes them delicious, thankyouverymuch) counts as a meat product or not -- I know that soups made with a meat based broth like chicken stock are a no-no, but lard? Better err on the side of the purity of the fast though, right?

Anyway, I usually serve these with corn pudding. Or if I'm lazy, chips and salsa. Although a salad with sliced red peppers, some onion and ripe olives wouldn't go amiss, particularly if you served it with ranch dressing that's had a tablespoon of jalapeno pepper juice stirred into it. Mmmm!

Friday Bean Burritos

1 package burrito-sized flour tortillas

1 can vegetarian-style refried beans (I like Old El Paso brand, but if you're a purist in things like this, you could always make your own.)

3 green onions, finely diced (or more, if you really like lots of onions)

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar, colby-jack OR pepper jack cheese

picante sauce


Directions:

Place refried beans in a small saucepan and add a couple of tablespoons of water. Heat on stove until beans steam and emit small bubbles -- they are too thick to boil, so watch them carefully. I highly recommend that your spray your little saucepan with cooking spray beforehand.

Place tortillas in a microwave-friendly tortilla steamer (available at your grocery) with paper towel dividing each tortilla. You can also place the paper-divided tortillas on a dinner plate, inverting another plate over them for the same effect. Heat tortillas until they are steamy hot.

Have diced green onions, shredded cheese and other desired additions -- sliced black olives, jalapeno peppers, sour cream -- ready.

To make burritos, place a hot tortilla on a heated plate in front of you; spread a small amount of beans in a horizontal line from side to side. Sprinkle with cheese and onions; add some picante sauce. Ask the person whose burrito you are crafting if they'd like any additional items. If they want them, add to burritos in small amounts.

To roll the burrito, fold the right hand side of the tortilla about 1/3 of the way over towards the middle. Take the top of the burrito and fold it down over the beans, cheese, etc. Then roll the burrito from bottom to top, as tightly as you can without tearing the burrito. Serve to grateful family member or friend. Garnish with a scoop of corn pudding, if you're feeling frisky.

That's how they used to roll 'em at the late lamented Chi-Chi's, the best American Tex-Mex chain restaurant, like, ever. *sob!*

Corn Pudding

Super-easy and so good. Known as 'corn cake' at Chi-Chi's, I prefer the term 'corn pudding' because it seems to fit the consistency better.

1 can corn, undrained
1 can creamed corn
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 egg, beaten
1 stick butter
1 can of sliced green chilies, drained (optional)

Spray an 8x8 casserole with cooking spray. Heat oven to 375^o F. Cut stick of butter into chunks and place in casserole; put casserole into oven and allow butter to melt. When melted, remove pan from oven and add both cans of corn, beaten egg and package of muffin mix (and chilies, if desired). Stir until all ingredients are combined. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 45-60 minutes or until top is golden and center is set.

Serve with an ice cream scoop, creating an adorable mound on the heated plate. Or just dig into it with a big ol' serving spoon and splat a serving down on each plate. This recipe makes, I think, about eight servings. But don't hold me to that. It all depends on the size of your ice cream scoop, and/or the energy with which you dig into the casserole dish.