Chimichangas with Beef, Beans, and Barley

One of the new challenges of using dried beans from my Lonesome Whistle Bean and Grain CSA is that I have to plan ahead a bit more. My pre-schooler told me that his favorite dinner was burritos with beans and purple barley. That's super exciting! However, on this particular day, I didn't have any beans prepared. However, he helped me get the slow cooker and beans ready. It was a good reminder to cook up a large batch (3 c dry beans and 6 c water) in the slow cooker and then freeze the cooked beans in 2 c portions.

About every 5 years we make our friend, Tom's Chimichangas. They are delicious (fried food is always great) and freeze well, but they are just a little bit more preparation work than burritos. However, I had beans prepared and barley on the stove and prepping the little delicious packets was a very nice afternoon activity. With this recipe it was also easy to vary the ingredients inside (i.e. onions vs no-onion) to make everyone happy. I froze most of them and we have been diving into the freezer for lunches.

Tom's Chimichangas

1 lb ground beef cooked

1+ t cumin powder

1+ t chili powder

2 c cooked rio zape beans (from Lonesome Whistle CSA)

1 c (uncooked) purple barley (from Lonesome Whistle CSA)

1 small can chilis

1 onion diced

olive oil

medium sized whole wheat tortillas

grated cheese

lettuce

salsa

Cook 1 c purple barley with 3 c water until soft (40-45 minutes). Saute onion with olive oil and set aside. Cook ground beef with cumin and chili powder. Mix cooked meat, beans, barley, onion, and can of chilis together. Fill tortillas with the filling and fold into a packet using a tooth pick to hold the packet together.

Heat vegetable oil in a pan (I do enough to cook one side at a time--not deep fry the whole thing) and cook chimichangas on each side until browned and "flaps" stay closed without the toothpick. Serve with grated cheese, lettuce, and salsa.