Baked Chicken Burritos with Refried Beans

This is weight watching food at its best for me. Poached chicken breast with no skin, low fat crème fraiche, low carbs. Okay so there is some cheese involved but its not loads and we can't be perfect can we?!

I actually made this last night because I wanted something quick and flavourful and filling enough to not notice that it was 'dreaded diet' food. It is such a nice dish to cook and tastes lovely.

You can, of course, buy tins of refried beans - I have in the past and it works well for the burritos, but its simple to make yourself and tastes so much nicer than the tinned variety, that I serve some on the side with a sprinkle of cheese to melt into the top.

Comforting Refried Beans

For the refried beans:

Ingredients:     (Serves 3-4)

1 x 400g tin kidney beans, drained
1 x 400g tin cannellini beans, drained (butter beans work too)
2 fat cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 pint vegetable stock ( a cube is fine)

Method:

Fry the garlic in a wide frying pan for 2 minutes to cook, but not brown. Add the drained beans and the stock. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to simmer for about 20 minutes. Then mash. Its as simple as that.

For the baked chicken burritos:

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts
200g chopped tinned tomatoes
80ml (few large spoonfuls) low fat crème fraiche
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chilli powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt & pepper
pack of flour tortillas
150g grated cheddar cheese

Poach the chicken breasts by covering with water (about an inch over the top). Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. turn off the heat and leave the chicken in the water for another 10-15 minutes and they should be perfect. Cool and shred the meat into a bowl. Set the oven to 190 C.

Add the spices to the chicken along with the tomatoes and crème fraiche. Season with salt & pepper and stir well.

To assemble, ideally use a square 9 inch lasagne dish (you can use any shape but this one fits the tortillas perfectly). Take one tortilla and spread about 2 tbsps. of the refried beans down the centre. Top with a sprinkle of cheese and add 1/5 of the chicken mixture. Roll up and lay into the dish and repeat with 4 more. This recipe will fill 5 tortillas and they will fit snuggly in the dish. Any remaining tomato cream sauce can be poured oven the top of the filled burritos. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top and put in the oven for 30 minutes until piping hot and bubbling.

Serve with a salad and a little more refried beans on the side.

Baked Chicken Burritos

Quick, low fat and delicious for a week night meal.