Cafe Rio-Style Burritos

Have you been to Cafe Rio? It is a Mexican restaurant here in Utah that I absolutely love. Their burritos and salads are both wildly addicting. Since I could pretty much eat it every week for the rest of my life, I figured I better figure out how to make it at home so I don't spend all of my money there. Here is a recipe for a delicious, smothered burrito a la Cafe Rio. You can really do this burrito any way you want to. Don't like green sauce? Use a can of red enchilada sauce instead. Not too crazy about black beans? Use refried. You really can't go wrong here. It's a delicious meal (one that we love having when we have friends over) and everyone seems to love it. The recipes for each of the main ingredients in this recipe have already been posted, so I've included the links below (just click on the name of each component to view the recipe). Enjoy!

Cafe Rio-Style Burritos

Sweet Mexican Rice
Honey Chipotle Black Beans (I only use 1 chipotle pepper in the whole batch and it is plenty spicy for me)
Fajita Chicken
Salsa Verde
Tortillas
Shredded Chedder or Monterey Jack Cheese
Pico de Gallo
Sour Cream

For each burrito, layer about 1/4 cup each of rice, beans, and chicken. Top with 2 Tb. cheese. Roll up burrito-style and place in a baking pan. Cover each burrito with 1/4 cup salsa verde and sprinkle with 1 - 2 Tb. cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes, or until sauce is warm and cheese is melted. Top with pico de gallo and sour cream.

Baked Beans

Hello friends! I've missed you! Sorry that it's been so long since I've written. Here's the thing: I'm 13 weeks pregnant and food is just not appealing to me right now. But, today I had a hankering for some baked beans so I whipped these up for dinner. This recipe comes from my mother-in-law Sandy. The first time she made these baked beans, I begged for the recipe, and I've never gone back. I know there are some kind of strange ingredients in this recipe, but trust me, these are delicious. Enjoy!

Baked Beans

4 small (or 2 large) cans Pork & Beans
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1/3 cup molasses
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 Tb yellow mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. parsley flakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook bacon & onion in large skilled. Drain.
3. In large casserole dish or 9 x 13 pan combine all ingredients. Mix well. Cover with tinfoil.
4. Bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for another 30 minutes.

Honey Chipotle Black Beans

This is a recipe I've been fiddling around with for a while. I think I've pretty much got it down now.

Super Easy Honey Chipotle Black Beans:

Ingredients-
3 cans black beans (yes, canned beans- this is where the easy part comes in)
1 TB vegetable oil
1 medium onion- diced
1 green pepper- diced
1/2 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce- peppers removed and minced
(this will make it about medium heat- adjust the amount to your desired heat)
2 cloves garlic- minced
Honey
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
1 lime- juiced
Cilantro- finely chopped

Directions-
1- Open one can of black beans, dump into a bowl and mash them. You're trying to make a paste that thickens the beans. I usually just use the back of a large spoon to crush it. Once this can is mashed combine it with the other two cans.
2- On medium, heat the vegetable oil in a large pot (a 6 quart or so Dutch oven works great).
3- Add the onion, green pepper, chipotle peppers and garlic to the heated oil to make a sofrito. Sautee over medium heat until onions and peppers are soft and tender.
4- Add the beans and turn the heat down to low. Let it simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes or so. Just look to see when it gets to the thickness you want. The longer it cooks, the thicker it will get.
5- Add salt, pepper and cumin to taste (I like a lot of cumin). Add in the honey. (Really the amount depends on how sweet you like it. I would say I do around a tablespoon or so, which is fairly moderate sweetness.) Simmer for a few more minutes, stirring more frequently.
6- Take off the heat. Add the lime juice and cilantro, mixing them in with everything else. Let cool just a little before serving.

I think that you'll find that these are some very tasty beans. Much better than just opening a can. This is a vegetarian recipe, but if you wanted to add a little meat, bacon is mighty tasty in it. It's also possible to omit the chipotle peppers, making it much milder, but I'd recommend increasing the cumin and decreasing the honey then. Serve this with rice and your favorite Latin dish (be it Mexican, Cuban or what have you).