Bean & Tomato Tortillas with Cilantro

We've been eating lots of tortilla/burrito-type meals since John decided he liked them, especially now that fresh herbs grow right outside. We usually make them meatless, but this time I added cubed chicken. This is another throw-together meal with no set recipe, but here's what I put in these.




Half an onion, chopped
extra virgin olive oil
1-2 chicken breasts, cubed, then cooked in olive oil and seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper
4-6 plump cloves garlic

6-8 oz. freshly shredded monterey jack cheese
@ 3/4 cup loose cilantro leaves (then chopped after measuring)
ground cumin
garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of diced tomatoes with chiles OR diced fresh tomatoes and minced chiles OR diced tomato and cayenne powder to taste

12-16 flour tortillas

sour cream and salsa, opt.

*If substituting dried herbs for fresh, use 1 tsp. dried for every 1 tbsp. fresh.

Cook cubed chicken and diced onion together in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the minced garlic for the last minute or two of cooking. Add tomatoes, black beans, and most of the cilantro to the mixture (and chiles, if using). Reserve some cilantro for the tops. Season with cumin, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and additional garlic powder to taste, if desired. We didn't have any, but if you have lime juice, you could splash some in the filling, too. Let mixture simmer for 5 minutes or so until heated through.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Soften tortillas in microwave or briefly in oven, spoon filling into them, top the filling with some shredded monterey jack cheese, and roll the tortillas up. Place seam side down in a greased baking dish and top with more shredded monterey jack cheese and minced cilantro.

Bake in the oven until tortillas are crispy on top and cheese is lightly browned. Eat warm with salsa and sour cream, if desired.