MyPlate For The Heart

Chicken Burritos

We were inspired to make these because there is a restaurant near us that makes great ones.

You will find the pinto beans we used in your grocer’s freezer – we got them at Walmart. I like them because they are already cooked and do not contain sodium. They come in a resealable bag so are very easy to use.

3 cups cooked pinto beans, drained if using canned or boiled
1/2 cup prepared salsa – made this without salt (recipe below)
3 cups frozen corn kernels
2 teaspoons margarine (trans-free)
1 cup cooked chopped chicken, skinless
1 cup fat-free sourcream
8 flour or tortillas, warmed in microwave at service time
Heat the pinto beans with the salsa in the microwave. Heat the corn with the margarine in the microwave.

Allow everyone to assemble their own tortillas using beans, corn, chicken and sour cream. Extra salsa can be used here as well.

It takes some doing to find flour tortillas that are not too high in sodium and low in fat – read the label and try to stay under 200mg per tortilla. And if you are using the fresh-made chicken, frozen corn and frozen pinto beans they are very low in sodium so you come out okay.

This recipe makes 8 tortillas which feeds 4 to 8.

Salsa

2 fresh tomatoes, cut in half and seeds squeezed out
1/2 onion, peeled and quartered
1 anaheim (mild) chile pepper, cut in half, seeds and veins removed
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, wash and remove stems
fresh lime juice

Preheat broiler. Make salsa by placing tomato, onion, and chili pepper on a flat cookie tray, skin sides up. Broil until skins blister and turn very brown. Drain off juice and discard. Place cilantro, roasted onion and roasted pepper into blender or food processor. Puree fine. Add tomatoes and pulse until chunky. Add fresh lime juice. Refrigerate until ready to serve.