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Chicken Burritos

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I have to admit that one of things that makes this fatgirl fat is portion control. Once I make something I have to keep eating it until it’s all gone. Whether that’s a burger, a bag of chips or an entire cake. Restraint is not one of my strong points. I often make up big batches, of stews, soups, curries, etc. But often they don’t last as long as they should. If they stretch for 2 days then I’m lucky.

I am completely and utterly obsessed with Pinterest at the moment. Looking at picture of delicious foods and DIY crafts has actually become an addiction. I love getting ideas from all the amazingly creative people who are out there. Its insane what some people are able to do when it comes to presentation, and its a skill I long to have. On one of my many scrolls I came  across a post for making burritos in large batches. I’m crazy about burritos but only have them once in a while as I usually end up eating them all the same night.

This time I made up a big batch and they are all now proudly sitting in my freezer just waiting to be eaten. This batch made 8, pretty much because that’s how many tortillas I happened to have. But you could double or even quadruple the recipe if your freezer is big enough. I usually buy the 40 packs of tortilla wraps at Costco but always end up using them for different things. Now my freezer is stacked and ready to go with chicken burritos the next time I’m too tired to make dinner. I also made them so they are on the healthy side. It only took about an hour to do everything so it saves time in the long run. If you are a fan of burritos but not of cooking you can always order some from Gringos burritos. Delivered straight to your door you wont even need to get up off the sofa.

Ingredients

8 tortillas

2 chicken breasts

2 red peppers

1 small bunch of spinach

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

300g of brown rice (1 cup)

2 cups of water

4 eggs

3 tablespoons of taco or burrito seasoning

200ml of salsa

1 bunch fresh coriander leaves

200g of grated cheese (I used cheddar)

Directions

Put the cup of rice in the rice cooker along with two cups of water and set to cook. Finely chop the onions and garlic and fry off in a little olive oil. Finely chop or shred the chicken and add to the pan along with the finely chopped red peppers. Cook until the chicken is no longer raw then add the burrito seasoning and fry for a few more minute making sure it is has cooked through. Chop the coriander and add it to the frying pan along with the salsa. Stir the mixture to make sure its fully combined and leave to cool.

Once your rice has cooked, break the eggs into a bowl and beat them together. Pour the eggs into the rice cooker and mix with the rice. Set it back on to cook for a minute or two until the eggs have cooked. Leave this mixture to cool slightly too. In a third bowl grate the cheese.

Take your tortilla and place a couple of tablespoons of the chicken mixture, topped with the rice and then sprinkle on a little cheese.

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Roll the burrito and then tuck in the ends. I used a little sour cream on the end of the flap just to make it stick down. Repeat until all your mixture has been used. Roll the burritos in clingfilm and store in a ziplock bag in the freezer . To cook them just pop them in the microwave for a few minutes or remove the cling film and cook them in the oven. Voilà easy chicken burritos to grab and go.

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Spinach & Ricotta Tortellini

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As you may have read a few times now, I have a lovely new pasta maker. Sorry to keep banging on about it but I do. I decided to use it to whip up another batch of tortellini. The last ones I made were completely handmade, which actually came out very well. It is easier with a pasta machine as its far quicker to get the dough nice and thin,  but it really isn’t essential. So if you have been humming and hawing about making fresh pasta for a while now them I would really recommend you give it a try as they taste amazeballs, far better than the ones you can buy in the supermarket.

Ingredients

Pasta

250g of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

3 eggs

Filling

2 large handfuls of spinach

300g of ricotta (see my recipe here)

A knob of butter

Directions

To make the pasta. Mix the salt with the flour then make a heap on a clean flat surface. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in your beaten eggs. I haven’t taken any pictures of these steps as I’m sure you have seen it countless times before. Stir the egg gradually incorporating the flour from the sides of the circle a bit at a time so the well keeps its shape until the last moment. When all the flour has been mixed in you should have a lump of dough. Knead this dough for 5- 10 minutes until it is elastic and has some stretch to it. Wrap in cling-film and store in the fridge for 30 minutes. While you are waiting you can make the filling and sauce.

To make the filling chop the spinach then wilt in a little butter. Mix the spinach and ricotta together and season well. If you have some fresh parmesan to hand, grate some in too.

After the dough has been chilled properly you can begin to roll it out. It’s a good idea to separate your lump of dough into 2 or 3 pieces and work with one piece at a time. Put the unused lumps back in the fridge so they don’t dry out. If you have a pasta maker rolling the dough should be quick and easy. If not roll those sleeves up and get out your rolling-pin. The pasta really does need to be wafer thin, so when you think its thin enough, keep rolling. I read online that it should be thin enough so that you can see a playing card underneath the dough. The thinner your pasta the better it will taste. Even if the pasta is a little thick it’s not the end of the world but the skinny ones were definitely far tastier than the fatties. You can use anything round to cut the tortellini shapes, I just used a regular paper cup with a diameter of about 7 centimetres. I found that this was a good size. I tried a smaller cup too but I found they were quite fiddly to make, plus you would have to make more of them too.

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When your circles are all cut, put a bit of filling in the middle of the circle. About half a teaspoon.

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Fold the circle over so it makes a half moon shape. Squeeze the edges of the pasta together all around the filling, so the lump is secured.  Bring the two edges together so it makes the shape below.

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Put the tortellini on a floured plate to dry out for about 20 minute..

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Once your tortellinis have dried out. Boil them in batches of about 12 in salted water. They will take 1-2 minutes and are done when they float to the top. Serve with your favourite pasta sauce and top with freshly grated parmesan. Voilà homemade tortellini.