Friday Night Special

Over the years, Nick and I have gotten away from buying processed foods. We try anyway and for the most part have succeeded. I cannot break that boy of his Stouffer's French Bread Pizza habit though. He really loves it. And for me, the one thing I haven't adequately figured out how to recreate myself is Zatarain's Dirty Rice. Thankfully the Zatarain's people now have a reduced sodium version, which I like just as well.




Friday Night Special is Dirty Burritos (thanks for the name Elaine!). It's Friday night's special because we do our grocery shopping on Friday evenings and when we come home I need to make something quickly.

So to make the Zatarain's Dirty Rice, you need a pound of ground meat. I always use turkey. And brown it first. I have started using this method that I saw Rachael Ray use when crumbling ground meat... a potato masher! It really works.



Once the meat is browned, drain and then add two and half cups of water, bring to a boil and then add the Zatarain's.



I think the box says to take the meat out, and then add it back in when the water boils with the rice mix, but who cares. It's not that big a deal, it all comes out the same. Turn down to a simmer, cover the pot and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While that is cooking, it's time to get your burrito accouterments ready. I'm a firm believer in the Manny's Fajita Style tortilla. They are stronger than regular tortilla's and don't come apart when you fill them up. Shredded lettuce, check. Chopped tomatoes, check. Shredded cheddar, check. Salsa, check. Sour cream, check.


If you like, you can even heat up some refried beans, as I did on this day. I had those kick ass La Preferida Refried Beans with Chorizo. I can't always find them, so when I do, I stock up!


When all is ready, it's time to build the perfect Dirty Burrito. In my world that starts with beans on the bottom, followed by a scoop of Zatarain's. From there it goes cheese, lettuce, tomato, salsa and sour cream.



Good luck closing it! We do our best, but we always end up overfilling. I did succeed this time though! Serve with chips and salsa. I don't make Spanish rice with this because of the rice in the Zatarain's.