Chicken Burritos with Avocado Salsa Verde

I hope this post will get these Chicken Burritos into your expanding list of No-Thinking-Involved meals.

They're perfect for those nights when you're starving and nothing sounds good -- especially anything that involves lots of work in the kitchen.

I make them all the time and they rely on one of the most dependable sauces in all of Mexican cuisine:  Avocado Salsa Verde.

How To Make Chicken Burritos

Avocado Salsa Verde is a killer sauce with a remarkably easy recipe.  Make it once and it'll be a part of your kitchen repertoire for life.  For realz.

Of course, if you open up the fridge and see a potential headstart then you are lucky.

That's what spurred on this batch -- a Tupperware container of leftover Salsa Verde.

All you need to do is blend an avocado with this and you've got a lip-smacking Avocado Salsa Verde on your hands.

I also added another 1/2 jalapeno to liven it up a little bit.

Here's how it looked after blending it together:

But if your fridge doesn't regularly have leftover Salsa Verde in it (what?!), then here are the easy steps to make it from scratch.

We'll start with the usual suspects for Salsa Verde:

4-5 tomatillos (What's a tomatillo?)
1/2 onion
1 jalapeno (or serrano)
10-12 sprigs cilantro
1 garlic clove

Husk and de-stem the tomatillos, and be sure to give them a good rinse.

You can roast the tomatillos any way you want, but I usually just plop them in a 400F oven until they turn army green in color, approx. 15 minutes.

Add the roasted tomatillos to a blender along with 1/2 onion, the peeled garlic clove, the rinsed cilantro, and only 1/2 of the jalapeno.

Combine well and take a taste for heat, adding the other half of the jalapeno if you want to add more spice.

This will give you 1.5-2 cups of Salsa Verde and a single avocado is all you need to turn that into something otherworldly.

Simply add the flesh of a single avocado and combine well.

You can also salt to taste at this point but when the ingredients are fresh I will sometimes even skip the salt because it already tastes so good to me.

I know I've harped on this sauce before, but it definitely deserves the attention-- it really is delicious so if you're new to it then please consider adding it to your arsenal!

I also happen to have some leftover Mexican rice in the fridge and that's going to make this batch of burritos even easier!

The rice isn't crucial for this recipe though.  You'll be getting so much flavor from the Avocado Salsa Verde that you could easily use white rice and still get great burritos.

But of course, if you want to make a batch of Arroz Rojo you can see details on it here.

My seasoning for chicken is constantly evolving, and for this batch I used:

1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
pinch of chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly cracked black pepper

I usually saute some onion in oil and then cook the seasoned chicken pieces over medium heat.

But don't sweat the seasoning on the chicken too much because, you guessed it, you've got a killer sauce doing all the heavy lifting in these burritos.  (Hint:  it's green.)

A single chicken breast is enough for two loaded burritos or three that are medium-sized.  I usually make three so that there's a leftover burrito waiting patiently in the fridge for an even easier meal than this one.

You'll need a large, dry skillet to crisp up the burritos.  I usually heat up the tortillas for 30 seconds or so before adding ingredients to them -- this will make them easier to roll up.

Each tortilla gets rice, chicken, cheese, and gobs of the Avocado Salsa Verde.  You'll have plenty of the Avocado Salsa Verde so feel free to goop it on.

I find it easiest to tuck in the sides of the tortilla before rolling it together, like this:

Then it's just a matter of crisping up your burritos in a dry skillet.

I usually set my stove to medium and that will have the tortilla crisping up and turning golden brown in about 3-4 minutes.  Do that for both sides and everything inside will be piping hot when you serve it.

And these confident burritos prefer to be served up unadorned, no additional garnishes needed.  Just plop 'em on a plate and chow down!

Once you take a bite you'll know why -- the sauce is doing all the work and you won't need anything else.

Yum!

I usually wrap the leftover burritos, uncooked, in parchment paper and foil.  The parchment layer can help prevent sticking when you reheat them -- just plop the wrapped burrito in a 400F oven and 20-30 minutes later another delicious burrito is coming your way.

Okay, let me know if you have any questions about these Chicken Burritos, or more specifically, the Avocado Salsa Verde!!  It's such a great sauce to have in your repertoire and it will give you instant access to some No-Thinking-Involved meals.

Buen Provecho.