Kids in the kitchen.
They are with me always while trying to pull together something to feed them. It’s a chaotic time but family memories are created that I will cherish forever.
We have our eldest who is starving like a pack of wolves teenager and ten years older than his younger sisters. Earlier this week, he pulled together beef burritos with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, topped with fresh avocado. Impressive?
Definitely.
The teenager was wearing a t-shirt that said “Fear No Fish” on this particular day in the kitchen. He loves to eat, play basketball, football, baseball, hunt and fish. He may not admit that he loves playing piano and trumpet too. And he now proved to us, he can cook.
I helped gather his ingredients from the pantry, fridge and freezer and served as the main photographer.
Then the teenager got to work. This was an easy recipe pull together because all ingredients I had on hand. Our small town local grocery store keeps all of these ingredients on hand and this will become a go-to recipe we make again.
The teenager started with browning the hamburger.
2 lbs. hamburger
2 cups of shredded cheese of choice (we used “mexican” shredded cheese bag)
1 can of Mexican Rice Sauce
1 can of chick peas (garbanzo beans)
1 can of fat free refried beans
1 can of Rotel (mild)
3/4 cup water
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (seeds removed as best as possible)
8 whole wheat tortillas
2 chopped green onions
2 sliced avocado
1 TSBP dried chopped onion
1 TBSP garlic powder
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Add the dried onion. Salt and pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 350F.
These little chipotle peppers in adobo sauce add kick. Serious kick to your meat. I learned about them from my 30 minute meal hero, Rachael Ray and have been cooking with them for years. They add heat and dimension to any dish.
Slice them open and remove as many seeds as possible. Unless you want spicier and more heat, then keep the seeds.
Remove browned hamburger for those not liking spicy beef in their burritos. The teenager was kind enough to do this for his 3 year old and 22 month old sisters. Pretty thoughtful for a 13 year old, don’t you think?
Mix and stir in those chipotle peppers in adobo sauce into the hamburger.
Add the chick peas and stir.
Stir in refried beans into the meat and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce mixture.
Add 3/4 cup of water and stir. Simmer meat mixture on low.
Slice two avocados and the green onions. Try not to eat all the avocado before you need it for the burritos. The teenager and I were eating the avocado like candy.
In a 9″x 13″ pan pour a bit of the Mexican Rice Sauce in the bottom. Save remainder of sauce to cover burritos.
I helped the teenager put together some of the burritos. We put a spoon full (maybe 1/2 cup…or more) of the meat and bean mixture into the whole wheat tortilla, topped it with cheese and green onion.
We tucked in all 8 burritos into the pan and then covered with the Mexican Rice Sauce. This is a lighter sauce and not heavy like a gravy. The teenager prefers it, so I buy it.
Cover in the remaining shredded cheese…we added more cheese. It’s yummy.
Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes until cheese is bubbling.
The fresh sliced avocado was a hit on the top of the burritos. We placed them on top of the burritos just before serving.
The teenager gets the credit on this family supper.
What do you enjoy cooking with your kids?
Perfect meal/recipe for Cinco de Mayo today. 🙂
Oh my goodness this looks yummy! I’m VERY hungry right now! I gotta get my 13-year-old in the kitchen with me!
Ha! I love how you kept referring to him as ‘the teenager’. That looks SO yummy, I’m printing that off to make this weekend.
It’s hard finding things my boys like to cook with me. If they had their way they’d eat plain pasta 3 meals a day, 7 days a week.
Is he for hire? We need him to rev up our Taco Tuesdays.
judi
Yeah for your son! He will easily impress the girls and/or college roommates with his cooking talent. Looks like you have a few years of being pampered with someone in the house to help you cook.
This looks sooo good! Tell Teenager I am impressed! Our Little Bear and I love to make cheese quesedillas (sp?) together. Tink loves to stir up any batter I happen to be making into something good. Both love to lick the spoon, and I let them! Thanks for sharing!
Our children learned to cook things that they love to eat. Now in their 20’s, they have friends over to try out recipes, especially using the avocados that we grow. Love your recipe and delighted to see a young man doing great things in the kitchen! Thank you for posting…we’re sharing your post on our Facebook page! Come on over and let’s make friends!
A great job by the teenage boy! My daughter likes to bake, but my son has not taken too much of an interest in the kitchen.
Oh my, it’s late and I’m hungry. This looks amazing! Way to go, big and “little” cooks! 🙂
YUMMMMMMOOO! I love mexican cuisine!
I am going to try it…and I especially love the FRESH AVOCADO!
Lori
http://www.wom-mom.com
I remember when I was his age and learning to cook and how much fun it was! I’m glad you’re encouraging him to find his way around the kitchen–The dinner looks wonderful!!!
I hope you’re doing well–THANK YOU again for your kind thoughts this week! I hope your week is ending on a good note!! 🙂
This is a fun recipe for cooking with kids! It’s nice to see kids who enjoy a full spectrum of meals, as many children are picky eaters. Your son came up with this recipe? Impressive! Sounds like you have a future chef on your hands! We especially love his “Fear No Fish” shirt =)