Burrito Night

There has been a long standing tradition of Friday night burritos in my husband's family.  We have carried that over into our family, with some small changes.  We look forward to the smell of pinto beans cooking in the crock pot every week.  This is an easy way to feed a large group of people or just your family.  But, regardless, it is delicious!

For the beans:

In a medium or large crock pot, cover the bottom with washed pinto beans (about 2-3 cups).  Fill at least half way with water.  Add 1-2 cloves crushed garlic, 1-2 tsp salt, and 1-2 jalapeno peppers, whole - stems and all.  You can pierce the peppers a couple times to allow more flavor to soak into the bean.  Cook on high for at least 4-5 hours.  I usually plug them in first thing in the morning and by lunch time they can be turn to medium or low.  You can serve them whole, mashed by hand, or pureed in a food processor.  You will need to add some of the water the beans cooked in to mash or puree, so reserve some of it.


Burritos are all about the toppings.  I will prepare an assortment of things to add to the beans, such as:

Diced tomatoes
Diced onions
Warmed veggie burger crumbles (such as Morningstar Farms or Boca brand crumbles)
Shredded jack cheese
Sliced black olives
Shredded lettuce
Sour cream
Guacamole*
Salsa*
Serve on warmed corn or flour tortillas or over tortilla chips for nachos.

*See below for recipe

For the guacamole:

3-4 medium sized avocados
1-2 jalapenos and/or habanero peppers
Salt to taste
1/2 red onion, minced - optional
1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro - optional
Juice from 1/2 lime

There are a few different ways to prepare this.  You can place the avocado, peppers, green sauce, garlic salt, and lime juice in a food processor mix until well combined.  Then, add in the onion and cilantro if using.  Or, you can mince the peppers and mash the avocado by hand before adding in the rest of the ingredients.  Just depends on how smooth or chunky you like it.

For the corn salsa:

2 cans sweet corn, drained
1 medium sized sweet or red onion, minced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, shopped
2-3 tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and diced*
1 habanero pepper, seeds removed and diced*
1 serrano chile pepper, seeds removed and diced*
1 poblano chile pepper, seeds removed and diced
juice from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lime
1 avocado, skin and pit removed and diced
Salt to taste


Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
*Use more or less depending on preferred level of spice.  I often times will use a combination of 2-3 of these peppers - for example, using only jalapeño and poblano.  The habanero is the hottest, followed by the Serrano.  The poblano and jalapeño are about the same spice level, but totally different flavor.  They work well together for a more mild salsa.