I started out with a recipe I found on the net, but then I changed it
so severely that I figured I'd write it down and share it with y'all.
It's a very simple dish and I'd assert it's a fine way to explore the
cuisine of The United Mexican States. Give it a try as it stands, or with
your own variations. Wait, what's that Yoda? "Do or Do Not, there is no
Try."
Chicken Burritos, ā la Supermarket Ingredients: Go to the market and
pick up:
1 rotisserie chicken
1 container of pico de gallo, fresh (canned if you have to)
1 can Summer Crisp or Shoepeg corn
1 bundle of green onions
1 pack of flour tortillas
1 carton/can of chicken broth
2 packs of microwave Spanish rice (Uncle Ben's Ready Rice is the best,
hands down)
1 bag of shredded cheese (pick your favorite, last night I used 3-Cheddar)
1 container dried garlic (if you don't already have at home)
1 container chili powder
1 container cumin
1 container cayenne pepper
Process: Deconstruct and shred the chicken, putting just the meat into
a large container. Wash and slice the green onions. Open the can of corn
and drain it. Microwave both packs of rice.
Get out your biggest, most favorite frying pan. I use my 5-quart Calphalon
pan. In the words of Mr. Ferris Bueller, If you have the means, I highly
recommend picking one up.
Get a medium flame going under the pan and put in some butter or oil.
Saute the onions until they just turn soft.
As they are cooking, toss in a liberal amount of the dried garlic (a teaspoon
or two, your taste should guide you). If you want to go to the trouble
of using fresh garlic, be my guest, but the taste of the garlic is not
a focus in these burritos.
As soon as the onions go soft, toss in the chicken.
After a moment, stir in the pico de gallo. Let that sit for a minute or
two, then sprinkle in a solid tablespoon of chili powder. stirring and
sprinkling, to coat all the chicken. Let it sit for another moment or
two.
After you've caught your breath and come to the realization that this
is going to taste pretty good, add maybe a quarter cup of chicken broth.
This is just to keep things moist, but not swimmy. Then stir in the corn.
Can you start to smell the goodness? Right!?!
Sprinkle in a dash of cumin and then a dash of cayenne pepper. How much
cayenne is up to you - some folks dig spicy and some don't.
Lastly, stir in the instant rice.
Once everything is good and mixed, lower the flame and let it steep. Let
all those flavors infuse the chicken. As soon as you put your spoon down,
heat the oven to 375°.
Then get out a lasagna-sized baking dish. Then open the tortillas and
the shredded cheese and get ready to fold some burritos. When the oven
temp hits 375, transfer the chicken mixture from the pan into a bowl.
Get a big plate for burrito folding and a big spoon. Take a tortilla,
put it on the plate. Put one heaping spoonful of the chicken mix onto
the tortilla, off-center. Grab a healthy pinch of shredded cheese and
sprinkle it on top of the chicken, then fold up the burrito. Not sure
how to fold a burrito? Go to YouTube and do a search for Fold Burrito.
There are a bunch of videos that all show essentially the same technique.
Once the burrito is folded, put it into the ungreased lasagna pan. When
you've got enough burritos in there, cover the dish with foil and pop
into the oven for 8 minutes or so. Then remove and serve.
There's lots you can do to adjust this recipe, from changing the meat
to to adding chopped jalapeņo to covering the burritos with cheese before
covering with foil. Have fun with it, and don't stop believing in yourself.
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