Make Ahead And Freeze Mexican Wraps

Hubby’s been experiencing some lunch ennui, so in an effort come up with some alternatives to his usual ham and swiss, I found this recipe for wraps that I could make in bulk and freeze.  Being me, I had to make a few changes because, OF COURSE, I don’t have everything for her version.

Ingredients:

• 16 10 -inch tortillas
• 3 cups shredded, cooked chicken (I had roasted one for dinner and used the leftovers)
• 1 8 oz. package of dried pinto beans, cooked per package directions
• 2 cups black beans
• 1 can rotel
• 1 pound Mexican style Velveeta (Kroger’s store brand makes a very tasty one)
• salsa (for dipping)
• 2 cups uncooked brown rice
• 2 cups frozen corn thawed (or 1 15 oz. can of corn, drained)
• salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. Add your rice to your rice cooker with enough water to prepare regular white rice, then add the can of rotel, a pinch of salt, and the garlic powder.  Allow to cook until done.  Allow to cool.
2. In a VERY LARGE bowl, add the beans, rice, corn, and chicken and stir until well combined.
3. Sprinkle generously with salt (this is a HUGE batch of filling).  Stir until well combined.
4. Meanwhile in another bowl, crumble or dice the Mexican Velveeta and add a splash of milk (maybe 1/4 to 1/2 cup).  Nuke in the microwave at 2 minute intervals until all melty like cheese dip.
5. Pour melted cheese over filling and stir until well combined.
6. Put your stack of tortillas in the microwave and zap them for 30-40 seconds.  You want them slightly warm so that they don’t tear when you make your wraps.
7. Divide filling evenly between tortillas and roll each up burrito style.
8. Wrap each one individually in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag.  I managed to fit 7 per gallon size freezer bag.
9. If you’re planning on having one of the frozen ones for lunch, I’d take it out the night before and pop it in the fridge to start thawing.  Then nuke in the plastic wrap as necessary.
10. Serve with salsa for dipping.

This recipe makes 16 wraps that work out to 569 calories and 16.7 grams of fat, so not a terribly low cal lunch, but filling enough to last, with lots of fiber and protein.  Hubby declared these bland, so I would say they need some work.  Some variations would include swapping the milk for salsa in the cheese dip to add an extra kick.  You could also reduce the amount of cheese (which would help cut down the calories) by at least 1/3, possibly by 1/2 if you bump up the flavor elsewhere with other spices, possibly a 4 oz. can of chiles.  As another alternative, you could change out the Mexican Velveeta for 2% shredded sharp cheddar (also a significant calorie savings).  To up the fiber even more, use whole wheat tortillas instead of the white flour ones.  You could certainly leave the chicken out to make these vegetarian (the original recipe had no meat, but my husband is a carnivore).  I would also be inclined to sautee some diced onion if I were making these for myself and would likely up the veggie content with mushrooms as well.  Roasted red peppers would be a nice alternative too.  Maybe I’ll try a smaller verison with taco sized tortillas for myself…