Freezer-Friendly Bean & Cheese Burritos

These are handy to have in the freezer for a quick Mexican meal. Eat them on their own in your hand or on a plate with Mexican rice and smothered with enchilada sauce and cheese or just with some salsa or hot sauce. However you like them, they are yummy. 

Ingredients

1 package of large flour tortillas
4 cups of homemade refried beans (recipe on blog) or 2 cans of refried beans
1/2 cup salsa
Approx 2 cups shredded cheese (whichever you like-I use a Tex-Mex type)

How They are Made

Mix refried beans and salsa together (you can add chopped cooked chicken, shedded pork or browned ground beef, if you'd like). Spread bean mixture down the middle of tortilla. (you could warm them a bit before doing this for easier rolling) Sprinkle with cheese and roll up.

To Freeze: Wrap in plastic wrap and stick in a gallon Ziploc freezer bag. When freezer bag is full, seal until airtight and freeze for up to two months.

To Serve: Thaw for a few hours and warm in the microwave or oven.

Homemade Refried Beans

This is definitely a plan ahead thing but so worth it in the end. We love re-fried beans in our Mexican cooking. I like using this recipe to make homemade bean and cheese burritos you can freeze. This recipe makes a lot! You can cut in half if you would like.  Recipe comes from moneysavingmom.com

Ingredients

4 cups cooked pinto beans.

3 Tbsp healthy fat such as butter, coconut oil or lard. Not olive oil. (I cook mine in lard)

1 cup chopped onion

5 cloves minced garlic

2 1/2 tsp cumin (or to taste)

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp chili powder (or to taste)

1/2 tsp black pepper

Milk or water as needed. 

We add jalapeno sauce to the beans (from the States), if you don't have that available you can also chop jalapenos up finely and add as many as you want to the degree of hotness you like but you might want to fry them up the same time as the onion. 

Directions

To prepare dry beans, place the beans in a large bowl, cover with an ample amount of water and allow to soak overnight. (It says 1 cup of dry equals approx. 3 cups cooked but I'm not totally sure I believe that, I did 4 cups dry and made about double I think)

The next day, drain and rinse the beans. Cover them generously with fresh water and simmer for several hours or until tender. I did mine in the crock-pot on low for 5 hours and then high for another 5. It is a big batch but like I said I like to make and freeze burritos and freeze leftovers in containers or baggies.

At this point you can leave whole and mash later after frying or mash in the crock-pot before frying (which is what I do)

In a large pot or saucepan, saute the onions in the fat until they are soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 mins more. 

Add the beans. You may need to add water or milk at this point. Stir in the cumin, paprika, salt, chili powder, and black pepper. Bring to a slow simmer and allow it all to cook on low heat to incorporate flavors. Stirring occasionally. (Mash now if you haven't already after simmering for about 10 mins). I like my beans a bit on the chunky side when I mash. 

Make tostadas or quesadillas or bean and cheese burritos (recipe on blog)

Can freeze leftovers in 2 cup portions.