Freezer Food: Burritos

Cooking for the freezer is one of my favorite ways to make life easier around here.  We have a whole posse of boys to feed around here, and sometimes, the food needs to be ready NOW.  Burritos are one of my favorite ways to make that happen.

I also love making these for the freezer because I can control what goes inside them.  I try not to make a big fuss about "additives," but sometimes enough is enough and I just want to know what's going into my kids' tummies.

So, let's get started, shall we? This is super simple.  Sorry in advance for the lighting--this was best done without children, which meant after they were all sleeping.

I just start by creating stations for each ingredient along an assembly line in the kitchen.  You can put whatever you want inside your burritos, but I'm doing cheese, rice and beans.  Simple and filling.

Begin with a layer of plastic wrap.  It will help catch any drips and also serves as a carrier as you slide the burrito across the work surface.  Throw your tortilla right in the middle.  You can do homemade, (click here for the recipe) or if you're feeling lazy like I was, just buy some from the store.  

You can order the ingredients however you like, but this is how I did it:  cheese first,

then plenty of rice (white or brown--I'm using white here), 

and then the beans! (recipe here)

Now for the crazy part:  rolling the burrito.  Watch this!  

Fold it over, 

all the way over!

Grab those fillings and squeeze 'em toward you a little!

(Ignore the fact that my fillings are falling out, and then) Fold over one side, 

then the other side.  It should be a cute little bean pocket now!

Then roll 'er over and you're all done.  

Use that plastic to help you keep it in place.  (Another reason why I love starting the assembly line with plastic.)

Just tuck & roll, man.

Line up the troops while you finish filling.

You can also do it this way, and line up several burritos at once.  I find it goes a little bit faster, but it's also messier.

Throw them into a freezer bag for easy labeling and storing, and to prevent freezer burn.

To reheat, take out of the plastic, wrap in a paper towel, and microwave for 1-2 minutes.  These also work really well packed in lunches--they're all thawed out by lunchtime!

How To:  Freeze Burritos

Burrito ingredients:

tortillas

rice

beans

cheese

meat

salsa

(or whatever you want)

Materials:

plastic wrap

freezer bags

permanent marker

Fill and roll burritos.  Wrap in plastic wrap.  Put wrapped burritos in freezer bags.  Label bags.  Freeze.  To reheat, take out of plastic, wrap in a paper towel, and warm in microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Spiced Pear Bread

I didn't mean to disappear into the great abyss for the past few weeks.  Anyone with school-aged children knows this time of year is crazy.  And that, my friends, is what you would call an "understatement."

That aside, here's a yummy snack for after school, or a lazy Saturday breakfast.  It freezes beautifully, so if you're really feeling ambitious, mix up a bunch and save some for a weekday breakfast when everyone's in a hurry and you need something you can throw at them as they run out the door.

This recipe was born from an over-abundance of pears a couple of years ago and the desire to not. waste. one. single. bit.  I found a good starter online, and went from there.  As with most recipes, you can adapt to your desired tastes, but I definitely recommend trying it out as written at least once!

Start by mashing the pears.  I find this is easiest with pears that have been prepped for canning, or pears that are already canned (or frozen).  You can start with fresh pears; you'll just have to peel, core, and slice them before you can do anything else with them.

I like to leave a few big chunks so there are still bites of juicy pear in there, but you can make it more saucy if you prefer.

Add the beaten eggs, sugar and oil to the pears.

Once that's all mixed and the sugar dissolved, add the dry ingredients.  Stir to combine, but don't over mix.

Divide it into your baking pan of choice!  This recipe makes 3 regular sized loaves, 12 mini loaves or 24 muffins.  

Here's another trick with any leftover batter.  You can do this with pretty much any quick bread/muffin mix.  If necessary, add a bit of milk to make the batter similar to pancake batter, then cook on a griddle!  It works much more nicely for instant gratification when you smell all those wonderful spices wafting through your kitchen.

And also?  It's so much more kid friendly.  I don't know about you, but at our house, quick breads and muffins mean a big, crumbly mess.  But pancakes are great finger food when you serve them cold and without toppings.

Don't forget to turn those loaves out onto a cooling rack.  You don't want soggy bottoms.

(And honestly, those mini loaves slice up for little hands pretty nicely, too.)

Spiced Pear Bread

6 cups pear halves, peeled and sliced (about 3 pints/cans or 2 quarts, if you're using bottled/canned pears)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

3 eggs, beaten

3 1/4 cups flour

3 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

Mash pears in medium mixing bowl.  Add sugar, oil and eggs and mix well.  Combine dry ingredients, then mix into wet ingredients until just moistened.  Do not over mix.  Divide into greased baking pans (3 loaf pans, 12 mini loaves, or 24 muffins) and bake at 350 until golden brown (about 45-60 minutes for regular loaves, 20-30 minutes for mini loaves, 15-20 minutes for muffins).  Cool completely on wire racks before slicing and serving.  Freeze if desired; defrost at room temperature.