I found this piece in the Oregonian about making your own freezer burritos:
For convenience and savings, make your own frozen burritos | OregonLive.com
Quote:
Frozen burritos, are more often than not, pretty sad affairs. They meet the basic definition of food, but really, you're not tossing them in the microwave because they're good for you (or even, really, good at all).
Frozen burritos charms are these: They're cheap, can be eaten with one hand and are at the ready when you don't have time to cook.
But recently I learned of frozen burritos that are budget-friendly, convenient, and packed full of flavorful ingredients and fresh, healthy vegetables. You just have to set aside a little time to make them yourself.
Every few months, Brian Granse devotes a few hours to preparing a mass batch of these burritos (the recipe below yields 20), which he and his fiancé can grab from the freezer whenever they need. Prepping, cooking and rolling up an army of burritos definitely takes some time -- Granse can usually do it in a couple of hours -- but the time investment pays off throughout the month.
Granse developed this unapologetically inauthentic burrito to satisfy a few criteria.
Recipes included with this story: Vegetable-heavy Freezer Burritos.
First off was convenience -- as a full-time teaching assistant and part-time student, Granse wanted a good-for-you meal that could be grabbed in the morning and eaten on the go during the day. Using a small size of tortillas (versus the larger "burrito" size) yields a traditional freezer-friendly burrito that reheats in the microwave in just a couple of minutes.
Health was another motivating factor.
Yes, you're not likely to find kale, broccoli or sweet potatoes folded inside any burrito in Mexico. But they're nonetheless delicious. "I never even tasted kale before I moved to Oregon," Granse admitted, but now he sneaks the dark leafy green into meals every week.
Fresh vegetables do take some time to wash, peel, chop and cook, so prepping en masse ensures a veg-heavy meal at the ready even when you're feeling lazy.
Price was also important, especially on a student budget.
Yes, you can find frozen burritos on the cheap in most grocery stores. But if you're looking to eat healthy, the options are fairly limited. And expensive. Even using all organic ingredients (with the exception of a brick of too-good-to-be-resisted local Tillamook cheddar), Granse's burritos still clock in at under $1.50 apiece.
But convenient, healthy and cheap only go so far.
Ultimately, we cook something because it tastes good. And these burritos don't disappoint. They have a clean, fresh flavor, even after a stint in the freezer.
Sautéed onions, potatoes and sweet potatoes provide a bit of depth, beans give a satisfying shot of protein, fresh vegetables and cilantro bring on the green, and a generous sprinkling of cheddar pulls it together. Add a shot of hot sauce, and you just might not ever hit the taco truck again.
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Recipe for Veg-Heavy Freezer Burritos:
Ingredients
Olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
6 medium red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 5 cups)
Salt
Ground cumin
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 5 cups)
2 pounds broccoli crowns, washed and chopped into small florets (peel and chop stems as well)
1 large bunch kale, washed and cut into 1/2-inch strips (stems included)
5 cups drained cooked black beans (canned or home-cooked)
20 flour tortillas (standard size, not the larger burrito size)
20 squares of freezer paper, cut about 9 to 10 inches square
1 large bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
3/4 to 1 pound cheddar cheese (depending on how cheesy you like your burritos), shredded
Tape
Instructions
To make onions: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, and sauté until fully softened and just beginning to color, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
To make potatoes: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are just shy of being fully tender, about 20 minutes. Add more oil as needed to keep from sticking. Season to taste with salt and about 1/2 teaspoon cumin. Set aside.
To make sweet potatoes: Repeat the same process as with the red potatoes (the cooking time may be slightly different).
To make broccoli: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the broccoli and sauté, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
To make kale: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the kale (you may have to do this in batches as it cooks down), and sauté until softened, about 5 to 10 minutes.
To make beans: Season to taste with about 1 tablespoon cumin, and salt as needed (if the beans are canned, they will probably be salty enough).
To assemble burritos: Wrap 10 tortillas in a clean dish towel, and microwave until softened and pliable, about 1 1/2 minutes (this allows you to roll them without the cracking). If you don't have a microwave, you can soften them one by one by placing them in a hot skillet for a few seconds per side, or heating the bundle in a steamer basket above simmering water. Keep the tortillas wrapped until you're using them.
Remove a tortilla from the dish towel. If you have the counter space, you can build several burritos at once, assembly-line style, or just stuff them one by one. The filling composition can vary depending upon your taste. (Brian Granse uses about 2 tablespoons each of beans, potatoes and sweet potatoes, and about 1 tablespoon each of the other ingredients, including the cilantro and cheese.) The first burrito will help you figure out how much you can stuff in each tortilla and still be able to roll it. Take your filled tortillas, nudge the pile of filling toward one side (you can pull up the opposite end of the tortilla to shape it more into a line), then tuck the sides and begin to roll it tightly, tucking in as needed. Place the assembled burrito on a tray, seam side down. Repeat until all the burritos have been assembled.
To prepare for the freezer, place a burrito, seam side down, diagonally on the shiny side of one of your prepared squares of freezer paper. Fold in the sides, then roll to encase the burrito in the freezer paper (using much the same technique used to wrap the burrito). Seal with tape, and place in the freezer.
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From Brian Granse