I have good intentions every week. Really, I do. Some weeks I'll even start off by sitting down at my computer and making a real, live meal plan for family suppers. However, life gets busy. Near the end of the week I feel tired and sometimes a little stressed out from all of the family activities, the home office work, the chores, and the cooking that needs to be done. That's when dinners start to slide and we'll pick up a pizza in town or have pancakes for supper. There is something that I've found helps our family to avoid these unhealthy dinner slumps, though - it's learning QUICK ways to make healthy suppers! Today I want to share with you one of our latest favourite suppers (or lunches) that is so quick to make and nutritious too. It's our fast & easy whole grain chicken burritos.
These homemade burritos are seriously SO tasty! They contain all of the food groups, and they're really easy to modify for all members of your family.
My husband used to frequent a restaurant that served delicious burritos, so we went together one day so that I could see what was in them. This recipe is my re-creation of these yummy burritos. My version is really fast to make and packed with healthy ingredients like whole grains and vegetables.
To make these extra fast to prepare, I use Minute Rice® Instant Whole Grain Brown Rice. It only cooks in 5 minutes and it's really tasty!
Scroll down to the end of this post for the printable recipe for my Fast & Easy Whole Grain Chicken Burritos, or keep reading on for all of my burrito tips and tricks.
To make these burritos, you need some whole grain tortillas, jalepenos, tomatoes, Minute Rice® Instant Whole Grain Brown Rice, an onion, chopped cooked chicken (I use leftover roasted deli chicken), shredded cheese, cooked brown beans, cilantro and/or parsley, salsa, a sauce or dressing of your preference (I use a jalepeno aioli), salt, pepper and garlic powder.
First, chop up your jalepenos, tomatoes and onions to make a pico de gallo. I use about ½ cup of each vegetable.
Mix them together in a small bowl and add a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pop it in the fridge while you make the rest.
Follow the directions on the Minute Rice® Instant Whole Grain Brown Rice box and prepare your rice.
While the rice is cooking, you can heat up the beans and chicken pieces. I use a microwave to be quick, but you could also reheat them in the oven.
When your rice has cooked, mix in about a tablespoon of salsa per cup of cooked rice.
And that's ALL the preparation you need!
Now you get to put together your burritos. Serve them family style and have everyone make their own, or prep them beforehand and warm them in the oven just before serving.
Here's how I make mine:
I layer the rice, then the chicken, beans, pico de gallo, aioli, cheese and fresh herbs on top. Then, I roll it all up and enjoy my quick and easy dinner!
- whole grain tortillas
- Minute Rice® Instant Whole Grain Brown Rice
- cooked brown beans
- chopped cooked chicken
- shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese
- tomato
- onion
- jalepeno
- salt
- pepper
- garlic powder
- salsa
- a preferred sauce or dressing like jalepeno aioli
- cilantro and/or parsley
- Chop a ½ cup each of tomato, jalepeno and onion to create a pico de gallo (coarse salsa). Place them in a small bowl and stir in a dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Refrigerate.
- Cook 6 servings of Minute Rice® Instant Whole Grain Brown Rice as directed.
- While rice is cooking, heat the beans and chopped chicken in the microwave.
- Once the rice is cooked, stir in 3 tablespoon of salsa.
- To assemble a burrito, place a ½ cup of rice in the center of a tortilla. Layer with some brown beans, chopped chicken, pico de gallo, cheese, aioli sauce, and chopped herbs if desired.
- Roll and eat.
According to some new research, eating wholesome dinners throughout the week makes nine out of ten Canadians feel healthy, like a good parent, and even a ‘winner’. However, close to half of us want these easy, wholesome dinner options but don’t know where to start! To help Canadians approach dinner with ease, Minute Rice has created a digital hub of easy- to-assemble recipes and more at Thirdoftheway.ca. There are some excellent and SUPER easy dinner ideas here that I know you'll love! Try out my easy & quick whole grain chicken burritos this week, and then pop on over to Minute Rice's website to get your next easy dinner idea for next week. It really helps to have a fast and easy plan for healthy suppers.
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Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Minute Rice®. As always, all of the opinions here are my own. I only recommend companies that I use and love myself.
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