Bacon Black Bean Burritos

After our yummy bacon cheeseburgers yesterday, we had some leftover bacon. Strange concept, I know... but there actually was some left! I decided to expand upon a meal that my brother-in-law made for us when he and J. were dating. Bacon, beans, cheese, tortillas; an easy dinner for busy bachelors. And, while they were good... they were bland. Seasoning is what takes a food from being boring to brilliant. So, I made it my own:

First, you can make it healthier and tastier by making your own black beans. Canned ones are fine, but if you are into low sodium or non-processed options, cooking the beans yourself really isn't that difficult.

I'm the type of cook who opens the fridge and sees what options are available (i.e. using leftovers). We had some hash browns and brown rice that I threw into my bacon mix, along with chopped onion, minced garlic, chopped green chilies, and some french onion sour cream dip. I added two cups of black beans to my  concoction to finish it off. None of this is essential, as long as you have the bacon, the black beans, and some kind of flavor (onion, garlic, or peppers). I heated mine up in a dish first so the burritos wouldn't have to bake so long.

Next, I laid out tortillas like soft tacos and divided my mixture among them, then sprinkled each generously with cheese. We prefer the "Mexican blend" cheese because it melts faster. I then popped the pan into the toaster oven at 365* for 15 minutes (this will take longer if your ingredients aren't already hot).

While that is cooking, chop or shred some lettuce. We had some romaine and some iceberg, so I mixed them together. This is a great way to use up salad that is just about to wilt!

After you pull them out of the oven, open each one and top with lettuce, or let everyone serve themselves. A great idea for toppings would be tomatoes or sour cream, or salsa... though it should be tasty enough to not "need" salsa for flavor, sometimes you just want it spicy. Enjoy!