Red Beans and Rice Burritos

I just realized I  have a firmly established routine during weeknights, and there are a few certain things I like to do before relaxing each  and every evening. The first and foremost is to get the coffee ready. This is essential  because I get up at a hair before 5 am, and if I didn't have coffee I'm not sure what would happen. In one of my abnormal psychology classes our teacher explained how if you try to fight your  personal circadian clock you will not win. As a natural night owl, I've been fighting this clock with professions that force me out of bed at the ass crack of dawn for 10 years and tucked in by 9:30-10. I'm not sure I could dress myself or drive to work without coffee, to be quite honest, but then again I've never tried. 

The second is to charge my work computer and make sure I've got it in my purse. When  I say computer, I mean Itouch, but I shudder to think about forgetting it at home some dark day and having to do all my paperwork by hand. Lastly, I need my lunch made, and better yet, if there's something me and the boy can both take for a day or two, I feel like all is right with the world. It's as if all I need to be a proper adult is coffee and brown bag lunches ready to go each morning.

These healthy and oh-so tasty  burritos are a favorite of mine because I can get my fiance' to be excited a meal that doesn't have meat as a key component, and because they're dirt cheap to make. If you soak your own beans, you can make about 10 of these for less than 5 dollars, and freeze some of the mix for whenever.

Red Beans and Rice Burritos

- 2 cups cooked brown rice

-1 cup cooked or canned red beans ( rinsed if canned)

-1 medium yellow onion, diced

-1 cup tomatoes, canned or fresh, diced

-1/2 cup celery, diced

-2 cloves minced garlic

-1/2 cup parsley, fresh if available

-1/2 t. salt

-1 T. olive oil

-1/2 t. chili powder

-1/2 t. cumin

- Tortillas of choice for wrapping

- sour cream, cheese, salsa, hot sauce and lime juice for garnishes

Directions: In medium saute' pan on medium heat, warm olive oil. Add onion, garlic and celery and cook 5-8 minutes until softened. Stir in tomatoes and seasonings and cook another 5 minutes stirring often. Toss mixture with rice to flavor, then toss in parsley and beans. Wrap in tortillas and garnish as desired. Makes 8 burritos or so depending on filling sizes.

I always get excited when I remember I've got one of these for lunch. So many flavors match up perfectly with the cumin flavored veggies and rice, and meaty beans make this even more satisfying. I always use whole wheat tortillas and put sour cream and sriracha  on them. 

Now THIS is a burrito. Bite me, Taco Bell. 

 The filling freezes great up to a month or so as well. Enjoy!