Black Bean & Veggie Burritos

Burritos themselves aren't very pretty to look at. But I think that lots of colorful veggies are. (and yes, that is my trusty jar of Adobo in the corner).

Though my husband and I aren’t vegetarians, we eat meatless meals several times a week. We do this partially for health reasons, partially for cost reasons and partially because vegetables are so darn tasty. I’m also biased in favor of them because I think food should be attractive. Veggies are generally prettier than chicken breasts or bacon. The problem is that produce doesn’t keep for very long. So I’m often looking for ways to use it up before it goes bad. Soups and stir-fries are obvious options. But there are times, like tonight, that neither of those sounds appealing. So I raided the fridge and cabinets for a few staples, starting chopping and sautéing, and came up with these veggie burritos. I had no idea they would turn out as well as they did.

Black Bean & Veggie Burritos
Makes 4 large burritos

Ingredients
1 large zucchini
1 large yellow squash
1 large onion
1-3 jalapeño peppers
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp. Adobo with cumin
1 32 oz. can of black beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 c. frozen corn kernels, thawed
Juice of one lime
Large flour tortillas
1 1/2 c. shredded pepper jack cheese
Sour cream & salsa, for serving

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Wash and dice zucchini, squash and onion. Wash, seed and dice peppers.
3. Add onions, garlic and peppers to skillet. Cook until slightly softened. Add zucchini and squash and cook an additional 3 minutes. Finally, add black beans and corn and cook until everything is heated, about 5 minutes.
4. Heat tortillas. Fill with vegetable-bean mixture, cheese, salsa and sour cream (if desired). Enjoy!

My thoughts & suggestions

• OK. I realize that I’ve now contradicted my recent mini-rant against premade spice mixes. But there is one mix that I keep around – Goya Adobo. This mixture of salt, pepper, cumin, garlic power, oregano and turmeric is a staple in my kitchen. I use it in chili, on grilled chicken and in almost anything Mexican-inspired. It’s also great on home fries and french fries. Be careful, though, because it is salty. A little goes a long way.
• I used 3 jalapeños and still thought the filling was a little mild. I actually think a habanero pepper would be quite good in this.
• I don’t have a whole lot else to say. Cooking doesn’t get much easier than this. I did consider adding more Adobo, or at least more cumin. But the vegetables have so much flavor on their own; and I didn’t want to overpower them. I know that I’ll be playing with this idea in the future. I’m sure lots of other vegetables would be good in this. I’ll probably throw in some diced tomatoes next time. I definitely think the filling could use fresh cilantro. Avocado would also have been a great addition. But those are things that tend to get eaten quickly, meaning I didn’t have any lying around. Since this recipe was, above all, a way to clean out the crisper drawer, I’m not too worried about it.