Even though I only have 2 sons at home that I have to feed three times a day, they are eating me out of house and home! I wish I knew where it went because some days they eat 5-6 times a day.

They loved frozen burritos before I made the switch to a healthier lifestyle. Amy’s Organics can be expensive for a single Mom on a budget so I decided to create my own. Also by creating my own, I could make them a bit bigger so one burrito was enough. And it also allows me to control what goes into the burritos, and I can choose different types of beans and brown rice for added fiber.

If you like vegetables in your chili- you could add it to the bean base of this recipe. Get creative!

I used canned beans but you could use fresh cooked. 3 cans of beans is equal to 5.25 cups of cooked beans and 4 cans are equal to 7 cups.

Let’s get cooking!

You will need brown rice and whole wheat (or gluten-free) burrito sized tortillas. This recipe will make 32-40 good sized burritos so plan accordingly. Also, keep your tortillas at room temperature that will make wrapping them easier.

First get your brown rice cooking in your rice cooker- if you have one. I cooked up 4 cups of rice (2 cups brown rice to 3 cups of water). I used probably 2/3’s of the rice, leaving me some for another meal.

Beans:

3 cans of organic garbanzo beans
3 cans of organic pinto beans
4 cans of organic black beans
2 28 ounce cans of Muir Glen organic fire roasted tomatoes
1 medium onion chopped
2 tbsp of minced garlic
1 tbsp of low sodium vegetable broth concentrate
1 tbsp of cumin powder
1 tbsp of paprika
2-3 tbsp of chili powder
2-3 cups of water
sea salt to taste

Put all ingredients into a large pot and bring it to a simmer. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes for all the flavors to meld. Taste to see if you need to adjust the seasonings. If it is too thick you can add more water. Remember that you want it more on the liquidy side as you are going to add brown rice to it.

When the seasonings are right and the onions are soft it is done. Put the rice and the beans into the refrigerator for a couple of hours. You want them cold before you combine them, the rice absorbs less of the liquid from the beans this way, keeping it from getting to dry. Stir in the rice to the beans- I used 2/3’s of the rice pot but you may find 1/2 is more to your liking. Take a quarter of a cup of the mixture and heat it up. Test to see if the seasonings are still perfect. Adjust if needed.

Now it is time to assemble. I used close to a 1/2 cup of bean mixture in each burrito. If you don’t know how to wrap a burrito here is a burrito wrapping tutorial. You don’t have to wrap in foil unless you want to. Because we have assembled them cold you will be able to stack them in a ziplock bag or freezer container without worrying about sticking together.

To reheat you could put in a microwave for 2 minutes to start. Check to see if heated through and cook longer if needed. If you prefer not to use a microwave you could reheat in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. Cover with foil until the last 10 minutes.

Top with salsa and guacamole. Yum!