Black Bean Burritos

That's a picture of my my black bean burritos on my brand new 30 year old stove. Yes, that's right, my 30 year old brand new stove! I got it out of an elderly couples' garage for 20 bucks, and guess what? It was still in the box, with installation instructions dated 1976, the year I was born! How cool is that? It was a little dusty, and heavy!, but all I did was drag it in, wash it down, connect it to the gas, and bingo bango-my brand new 30 year old stove. Made in the USA. and built to last. I also scored some cool rocking chairs (only 5 bucks each!) for my front porch that I painted a deep burgundy to match an tiled wrought iron table from a yard sale. Astonishing what you can get for practically nothing, the pescetarian is quite pleased with herself!

Anyway, I'm always looking for ways to get legumes into my diet, esp. black beans because they are chock full of fiber, protein, and antioxidants and are a very good source of iron. These burritos really pack them in there and are tasty and filling, not to mention (in keeping with my bargain deals) extremely economical!

VARIATION - These can easily be made vegan by omitting the cheese.

RECIPE:
Black Bean Burritos

• 1 16 oz can of black beans, rinsed
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 3/4 c vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
  
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (more or less depending on spiciness preference)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 rounded tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
  
• 8 small flour tortillas
• shredded Monterey Jack cheese or crumbled queso fresco
  

• preheat oven to 350
  
• heat the oil and 1/4 cup of the broth in a large pot over medium heat, add the salt, onion, garlic, and jalapeño and cook until soft (about 5-10 minutes)
• add the carrot, bell pepper, the remaining broth, the beans, and the coriander and cumin and simmer for another 10 minutes, using the back of a wooden spoon to smash up some of the beans to make a consistency similar to refried beans
• remove from heat and stir in the cilantro
• put 2 heaping tbsp of bean mixture into the center of each tortilla and sprinkle with desired amount of cheese
• roll up and line up the burritos in a 13x9 inch baking pan (you may want to use toothpicks to keep the burritos closed)
• bake, uncovered, 15 minutes until cheese melts and the tortillas lightly toast
• eat plain or with some store bought salsa on top

Note: Wrapped tightly in foil, these freeze very well. For a super quick meal, bake the frozen foil pack for 20 minutes at 350, unwrap and bake another 5-10 minutes. EASY!