Mix n' Match Meatless Mexican-Inspired Meals

(Pulling this one out of the archives for my Super Frugal Grocery Challenge, since most of these recipes are super cheap!)

(A bit too much alliteration in the title?)

At our house, we eat a lot of burritos. A lot. We consider them the perfect food: cheap, quick, easily vegetarian, and made with items we almost always have on hand. I set out to make a list of the versions of Mexican-inspired meals we usually eat (burritos, quesadillas, tacos, nachos, enchiladas, fajitas, etc.), but the list soon became unwieldy. So instead, here is a mix-and-match recipe generator, based on some of my favorite combinations. It’s like going to Qdoba or Chipotle, except cheap. (These are all vegetarian or pescatarian, so if you add meat the options get even more diverse.)

Lettuce, refried beans, chili, cheddar, guac, sour cream, Cholula

Choose a base:

Flour or corn tortillas

Taco shells

Tortilla chips

Brown or white rice

Quinoa

Shredded lettuce

Cabbage or other hardy green, steamed

Choose a filling:

Refried beans, cheddar cheese, chopped jalapenos

Refried beans, avocado mashed with lime juice, salt, pepper, and chile powder

Cheese and chile powder

Beans, sauteed greens, diced tomato or salsa and a fried egg

Beans, cheese, peppers, and mole sauce

Beans, cheese, salsa, lettuce, sour cream

Beans with sauteed slices of onion and pepper

Sauteed kale or chard with garlic, black beans, and tomatoes

Chili, slightly drained

Black beans, roasted sweet potatoes, and avocado

Black-eyed peas, roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed greens, lime juice, hot sauce

Tuna, salsa (drained), and cheddar

Shredded fish, shredded cabbage, hot sauce

Refried beans, cheddar, pickled jalapenos, habanero sauce

Choose toppings:

Sour cream

More cheese

Peppers

Jalapenos

Hot sauce

Chile powder, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder

Chopped onions

Avocado

Salsa

Chopped tomatoes

Cilantro 

Lime

I like to cook burritos and quesadillas on my panini maker. Toaster ovens work well for most everything else (or a regular oven). If you can only heat up something in the microwave (or the stove), only heat the filling, and warm up the tortillas on a dry pan for several seconds.

What are your favorite combinations?

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