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LOWFAT BURRITOS

Although not Southern in the classic sense, burritos are definately south of the border in taste. My father was introduced to good Mexican food while he was in the Marines stationed in California. It wasn't the modern fast food that is available now, but good food cooked by real mexicans. They didn't go to fancy Mexican restuarants but to little "hole in the wall" places on side streets. That's where the best food was. Well, burritos became part of our diet when I was a kid, but as with the other meals we ate, an adjustment had to be made for my dad's lowfat diet. The result was Low Fat Burritos.

Ingredients



3 regular cans of Old El Paso Fat Free Refried Beans

2 Packs of non fat tortillas (makes 20 burritos)

1 package of 2% Kraft Lowfat cheddar cheese

2 - 3 tablespoons of garlic powder

2 - 3 tablespoons of onion powder

2 - 3 tablespoons of Mexene chile powder

optional - 1 small can chopped green chilies

PAM ,fat free, no stick cooking spray, sufficient to coat the bottom and sides of a large iron or non-stick skillet. I prefer the olive oil flavored spray for this meal



Directions

To begin, spray a large, good quality, non-stick type skillet with PAM and place the refried beans in the skillet on a low heat. Using a wooden spoon, or other utensil suitable for use in non-stick cookware, spread the beans around evenly across the boottom of the skillet. (In the old days, we would have added bacon grease to the skillet!). Add the onion powder, chile powder and garlic powder (not garlic salt) to the mixture. Turn up your heat to medium and start stirring the beans until the seasonings are well blended into the mix. Once the beans get really hot, they will become thinner and easier to stir. Be sure to stir the bottom and sides of the skillet or the beans will burn. When the beans are steaming hot, sprinkle the grated lowfat cheddar cheese into the beans. When the surface of the beans is covered with cheese, stir it in untill it melts and add another layer of grated cheese. Keep doing this until all of the cheese is fully melted into the beans. At this point you may add the green chilies. Stir them in and let the mixture cook for another 15 to 20 minutes. This will evaporate some of the moisture so the beans are not too runny. At this point, your cooking partner can get your tortillas ready. There are three ways to prepare them. One way is to throw two are three at at time in the microw wave for about ten seconds to get them warm. Or, you can heat them up on a griddle for a few seconds on both sides (don't let the tortillas puff up). Or, if you are really hungry and don't want to take the time to heat them up, just use them at room temperature. The heat of the beans will warm them up just fine. Turn off the heat when the bean start to get thick again. This means the excess moisture has evaporated out of the beans. Take a good heaping spoonfull of beans and spread it on a tortilla. Then roll it up. You may have to experiment with the amount of beans you use in each burrito. Sometimes I end up with an extra tortilla or two. Take a paper towel and lay it on a large plate or serving tray. Stack the finished burritos up until you have a little pyramid of burrittos. This will help keep them warm and soften up the tortillas. Serve with lowfat or non fat sour cream, salsa, picante sauce etc.. I like the green sauces. Gaucamole is great too, but consider the high calories of the avocados.

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