Chicken and Black Bean Burritos with Hummus

Not every recipe needs to be earthshattering to be delicious!  Sometimes you just need an idea to be motivated to eat something good.  It's a cold blustery day in San Diego, perfect hot lunch day.  Ellie and I are at home watching movies and playing games. When it comes to lunch, 99% of the time we have sandwiches, and the rest of the time we eat really good leftovers.  Today we made some delicious "left overs" burritos and whipped up some home made hummus on the side for some delicious dip.  (Ellie is 2, a "dip" of some sort is a meal requirement).

We wanted to share our simple recipe with you!

First we made some hummus:
Add the following to your food processor (and if you don't have one, try an electric mixer, or a good old fashioned potato smasher.)
1 can of garbanzo beans at room temp.
2 tsp Sesame seeds (also known as Tahini) (or some Pine Nuts)
1 clove of smashed garlic
1 tsp spices or herbs like cumin, parsley (you can add pretty much any spice)
Sea Salt to taste
Start whirling it all around in your processor, and gradually add the following:

1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil (more or less, you will be adding it as you blend) and keep processing until it all emulsifies and becomes "fluffy" and well mixed. 
It's really not an exact science, we just make it super simple.

For the Burritos:
Left over baked or bbq'd Spur Valley Ranch chicken
Can of Black Beans (rinsed and drained - one can will make about 4 burritos)
Wheat Tortillas
Plain Greek Yogurt
Shredded cheese
Add more veggies if you like!

Heat up the chicken, beans and tortillas.
To assemble the burritos, spread the hummus down the center, sprinkle on some cheese, add the chicken and beans, and finally a dollop of yogurt.  Fold in the ends of the tortilla and roll into a burrito. 
We ate ours with some steamed broccoli on the side and a little extra hummus for dip.  Top it off with a little delicious fresh squeezed lemonade from our friends at Polito Farms at the Little Italy Mercato.  And there you have a delicious hot lunch.

That's it! Simple lunch or dinner with delicious and healthy ingredients. 



Simple delicious lunch!




Ellie Loves her hummus dip



Grilled Greek-like Chicken Pita with Yogurt Sauce

I love the flavor of the chicken cooked with Old Bay, one of my favorite spices!

Chicken Rub:
4 pound Spur Valley Ranch Pasture Raised Chicken
Old Bay seasoning (or make up your own cajun style)
Olive Oil
Black Pepper
Lemon
(you can marinate the chicken too if you like)
Cut Chicken in half lengthwise (for faster cooking time).  Sprinkle with Old bay, drizzle on some Olive Oil, grind up some fresh pepper and squeeze juice from one lemon onto the chicken and give it a good rub.  Notice that our fresh chicken isn't greasy or smelly, or fatty...just an observation.

Edith Says: "When we opened the wrapping there was no weird smell.  The chicken looked clean and no bruising.  And best of all, I would have touched the chicken without donning gloves first if my husband hadn't been in charge of preparing it."

Grill Chicken on the BBQ or Gas Grill for about forty five minutes - be sure to check the temp before you remove it.  All chicken should be cooked to an internal temp of 185*F.

Meanwhile, prepare the Yogurt sauce.  This is my favorite recipe, but you can add and mix and match ingredients depending on what you have available.

Yogurt Sauce

1/2 cup plain greek style yogurt
handful of chopped cilantro
2 green onions chopped
1 tsp of minced garlic
1 tbs lemon juice
Season with any combo of the following: salt, pepper, old bay, cayenne, chili powder, cumin, dill, oregano, taco seasoning, onion, parsley, rosemary etc.

Mix and let it set in the fridge until it's serving time.

Don't forget to warm up some Pita bread, or naan, or french bread!

You can serve it up with some fresh veggies, like tomatoes, broccoli and avocado! 

ENJOY!!!

Beer Can Chicken Recipe

FATHERS DAY BEER CAN CHICKEN RECIPEThis is Alex's favorite way to cook a chicken at our house.  Sure to be a hit at your Father's Day gathering on Sunday!  Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there even the ones that call themselves dad to fur, feather, and Scale kids.

One Spur Valley Ranch Pasture Raised Chicken (4-5 pounds)
Olive Oil
Dry Spice Rub (your favorite one, or see below for suggestions)
Salt
Pepper
one beer (you only need half of it, so go ahead take a few sips :) )
shallow pan for roasting (disposable works best)

Rub outside of chicken with olive oil to moisten skin.  Rub your favorite spice mixture on the outside and add garlic, salt and pepper if needed.

Open one can of beer and drink it until it's half full...
Place the beer can in the middle of a small shallow baking sheet and place the chicken (legs down) ontop of the beer can, fold back wings and adjust legs so that it creates a tripod, and balances evently.  It should remain standing on the BBQ or in the oven. Use medium/high heat (do not use direct flame or heat. Grill or bake for 1-1/2 hours or until a thermometer inserted in the chicken breast area reads at least 165º.
Let the chicken rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.

Serve with pasta salad, potato salad, baked potatoes, steamed veggies, corn on the cob, baked beans etc.

**Alex's Favorite Chicken Rub idea***: mix together in any combination, or all of them if you've got them, either way it will be delicious!

1 tsp:Sage,
Rosemarythyme,
oreganofennel,
red pepper flakes or cayenne (for spicy)

2 tsp:
Cumin,
dried Garlic,
dried Onion
coriander
red chile powder or paprika,
mesquite flavor (or jerk flavor)

3 tsp:
ginger
pepper,
Kosher salt.