South of the Border Wraps

This is a great recipe to use when I have to feed my guys at several different times.  I can have all the elements ready to go and just have to build each wrap as needed.  There is no cooking involved, so this is a perfect thing to prepare on a hot day.

I found this recipe in a Quick Cooking magazine (renamed Simple & Delicious), but it didn't contain any kind of meat, so I altered it by adding chicken tossed in a Southwest seasoning mix.  This recipe gets all 8's on the Melnarik rating scale.  The recipe below makes enough for 3 wraps when using the soft taco size tortillas.  As a can of beans contains more than the 1/2 cup this recipe calls for, it's easy to double it to feed more people.  I usually prepare all of the beans in the can and make extra chicken so it's available for a quick sandwich. 

I put the beans, which have been rinsed and drained, in a shallow bowl.

Using a fork, I mash the beans into a thick paste.

To the beans, I add the salsa, cilantro, and green onions.

The salsa makes the mixture more spreadable.

To make this meal easier to prepare, I use the grilled chicken strips that are sold in most markets as well as the discount warehouse stores.  Any leftover chicken breast meat could also be used.  I cut the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes.  In a shallow bowl, I place the cooked and cubed chicken and add the Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning mix.  I don't know if there are other brands available out there, because I like this brand so much, I've never looked before.

I toss the chicken and the seasoning until all the pieces are coated.

After heating the tortillas in the microwave to make them pliable, I place about a third of the bean mixture down the center of one tortilla.

I top that with 1/3 of the chicken.

The chicken gets topped with a generous amount of the shredded cheese.

The whole thing gets wrapped up burrito style and it's ready to consume!

 This is a tasty and healthy sandwich that can be assembled quickly and easily.  Enjoy!

South of the Border Wraps

1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained

2 tablespoons prepared salsa

1 tablespoon chopped green onions

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

1 cup cooked, cubed chicken breast

2 tablespoons Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning Mix

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3 flour tortillas, soft taco size (about 9 inches)

In a bowl, mash beans.  Add salsa, onions and cilantro; mix to combine.  In a separate bowl, toss chicken with seasoning to coat.  Spread 1/3 bean mixture on tortilla, top with 1/3 chicken and 1/3 cheese.  Roll up burrito style.  Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Chicken-Bacon-Ranch Wraps

On a hot day, if you ever need to have something cool or cold to eat that you've prepared ahead of time, then this recipe is for you.    I've found this to be a favorite choice of sandwich at home on those days when everyone has a different schedule and we won't be eating dinner together or for our second day on our beach trip.  I prepare the filling and keep it in Tupperware until it gets wrapped in a tortilla with a bit of lettuce.  Hint:  If taking this dish in a cooler, store it in a piece of Tupperware with a round seal.  All Tupperware is guaranteed to be air-tight, but the containers with round seals are guaranteed to be liquid tight!  That way as the ice melts in your cooler, none of the water will get into your food.

I like using the rotisserie chickens in different dishes because the combination of dark and white meat tends to give more flavor and the smoky goodness of the bacon just adds that extra touch to this recipe.  My guys and everyone else I have served this to, give it 8's and 9's when rating it.  I also love how easy it is to serve when my guys are ready to eat.

As it take a while to cook, I begin by cooking the bacon.  When a recipe calls for crumbled bacon, I like to cut the raw bacon into 1/2-inch pieces and throw them into a saucepan to cook.  This way the pieces are more uniform in size and they seem to cook faster without running the risk of overcooking.

In the first photo, you can see how the pieces are still clumped together as I cut them, but in the photo above, you can see that as they cook and I stir them occasionally, the pieces break apart nicely.

Once the bacon is fully cooked, I remove the pieces to a paper towel to soak up any extra fat.  I line a small bowl with foil and pour the bacon grease from the pan into it.  This way, when it hardens, I can remove it in the foil and throw it away and I don't even have to wash the bowl!

I like to always have on hand the meat of a rotisserie chicken.  I usually buy one every time I go to Costco, let it sit on the counter to cool for an hour or so, then remove the skin and take the meat off the bones.  I then freeze it in a zip lock bag.  This way, whenever I have a dish I want to make using a rotisserie chicken, all I have to do is defrost the chicken and I'm ready to use it.  For this dish, I placed the chicken in a large bowl and added the green onions, tossing to combine.

I then shredded the Monterey Jack cheese and added it to the chicken and onions, tossing to combine.

By that time, the bacon was cool enough to add to the chicken mixture.  Again, I tossed to combine.

The Ranch dressing was the last ingredient to be added.  I'm not a huge fan of Ranch dressing, so the first time I made this dish I only added enough dressing to coat the other ingredients.  It really lacked flavor, so I kept adding more dressing until it tasted good.  The second time I made it, I used the cup of dressing the recipe called for and that was perfect.  It wasn't dry and it was flavorful, but didn't scream Ranch dressing.

That's all there is to it.  It's ready to be placed in a flour tortilla with a bit of lettuce!  On the beach, each person takes a tortilla, places it in their hand and I scoop some of the chicken mixture on to each one.  The recipe had a tip that it can also be heated in the microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds after being placed on the tortilla, but we've only eaten it cold.  It's a refreshing cold sandwich on a hot day!  Enjoy!

Chicken-Bacon-Ranch Wraps

  

1 rotisserie chicken, coarsely shredded

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz.)

8 slices cooked bacon, chopped (about ½ cup)

1/3 cup chopped green onions

1 cup Ranch dressing

1 pkg. flour tortillas, soft taco size

shredded lettuce, optional

In a large bowl, gently mix all ingredients except tortillas and lettuce.   To assemble sandwich, place approx. 1/3 cup of chicken mixture in the middle of one tortilla, add lettuce to your liking.  Roll up burrito style and enjoy.

The chicken mixture can be kept in the refrigerator for quick snacks for the kids.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wraps

It's still summer and quite hot outside, so I pulled out another recipe we love from my recipe file labeled sandwiches.  I consider a wrap a sandwich because the filling is enclosed in a tortilla (which is sort of like bread) and it is held while eating it.  For those of you who don't like spicy foods, this is not super spicy.  The heat doesn't come from the salsa, but from the cayenne pepper, so you can adjust the amount you use to suit your taste.

This sweet and spicy wrap gets 8's and 9's on the Melnarik rating scale.  It comes under the healthy food category as it has fresh spinach leaves and cucumber and the chicken is a lean meat.  I found this recipe in a Pillsbury recipe book at the check out stand in the market in 2010.  The recipe indicated that Shreya Sasaki of San Diego, was the author.

The sweet component in this wrap comes from the spread.  In a small bowl, I mixed together mayonnaise, honey and finely diced cucumber.

I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and placed it in the refrigerator until I was ready to build the wraps.  It's always a good idea to keep any food items containing mayonnaise in the refrigerator for as long as possible and discard any leftovers that have been at room temperature for a long time.

To prepare the chicken, which is the spicy component, the recipe called for 1.25 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts to be cut into 1/4-inch strips and cooked in a frying pan in olive oil.  The evening I made this, I didn't have much time to put dinner together, so I used the already cooked chicken strips that can be found in most markets, plus Costco.  I still put the chicken in a skillet to heat  and to make sure the seasoning and salsa got cooked into the meat.

Once the chicken was heated through, I added the salsa and cayenne pepper, stirring until everything was completely combined.  I then turned off the heat and let this mixture cool a little while moving on to the next step.

I heated my flour tortillas in the microwave so they wouldn't break when folding the wraps.  I took the spread from the refrigerator and spread about 2 tablespoons of this mixture down the middle of the tortilla.

Using the baby spinach that comes washed and ready to use straight from the bag, I placed a small handful on top of the spread.

On top of the spinach, I placed some of the chicken.

Instead of rolling it, I chose to fold it into an open burrito.  I begin by folding up the bottom.

Then I fold in the left side.

Finally, I fold in the right side and secure it with a toothpick.  I have found that this recipe makes more of the spread than we need for one meal, so I usually make up another batch of the chicken later in the week and we have it again.  I also like to keep some of the spread, chicken and spinach leaves in the refrigerator for a quick wrap that can be put together in no time.  Enjoy!

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wraps

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup finely chopped seeded cucumber

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

1.25 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4-inch thick strips

2/3 cup mild salsa

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

8 soft taco size flour tortillas

4 cups loosely packed fresh baby spinach leaves (about 4 oz.)

In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, cucumber and honey.  Cover; refrigerate until needed.  In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot.  Add chicken; cook, stirring frequently, 6 to 8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.  Stir in salsa and cayenne pepper.  Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until flavors are blended.  Microwave 4 tortillas at a time on High for 20 to 30 seconds or until warm and pliable.  Spread each tortilla with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the mayonnaise mixture; layer with 1/2 cup loosely packed spinach leaves and 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture.  Fold or roll; serve.