Black Bean & Rice Cafe Rio Burritos with Pico

I found this recipe here.  The original recipe calls for one jar store bought salsa verde.  As you might know I prefer homemade salsas and sauces over store bought, to me they taste a thousand times better.  So I found a good salsa verde recipe here.  Instead of cooking these in the oven I cooked my tortillas over the stove and then added the beans, rice, and cheese and then microwaved them for a couple of minutes.  This worked better for the type of tortillas I used- I used Tortillaland uncooked tortillas, the ones you can buy at Costco.  These tortillas have a tendency to get too soggy if I cook them in the oven.  We really enjoyed these and they were quite easy to make.  Enjoy!

Black Bean & Rice Cafe Rio Burritos

2 2/3 cup vegetable broth
2 cans black beans
1 cup uncooked brown rice
tortillas
3 cups White Cheese
Salsa Verde
2 Large Tomatoes
1/4 Yellow Onion
1/3 cup Cilantro
1 bunch green onions
Lime Juice (optional)
Salt &Pepper

Salsa Verde Recipe

1 pound tomatillos, husked
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
2 cups water

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Directions

Preheat oven to 450.Cook brown rice in two cups vegetable stock and add 1/3 cup sliced green onion. After draining and rinsing the black beans, pour the remaining veggie stock (use anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 cup veggie stock) and about 1/4 cup of the Salsa verde in a skillet and heat.   Let simmer until all liquid is absorbed.

Dice the tomatoes, cilantro, and yellow and rest of green onions. Combine in a bowl and add a pinch of salt and pepper. 

Next, place the tortilla in a baking pan and add 1/4 cup rice and 1/4 cup beans followed by 2-3 generous Tbs of salsa verde and a sprinkling of cheese. Close the burrito and smother the top with more salsa verde and another sprinkling of cheese. (In closing the burrito, I found that the whole wheat tortillas didn’t stay put as well-I used a toothpick in the middle and it did just the trick.) Bake for 4 mins or until cheese on the top is sufficiently melted.  

Serve with tomato salsa on the side.