Vegetarian Dinner Recipes — The Field-Week Burrito That Gets Eaten Over the Sink

The copyediting battle continues. The copyeditor — a meticulous person named Sandra (different Sandra; the world is full of Sandras) — has opinions about my use of em dashes. She thinks I use too many. She's right. I use em dashes the way Mom uses butter: generously, unapologetically, and in quantities that would alarm a professional. But I won the 'Mom' capitalization battle. Mom stays capitalized. Donna Abernathy is not a lowercase noun. Caleb's vocabulary has exploded. He's two and a half (almost) and is now speaking in four- and five-word sentences: 'I want more noodles.' 'Where Daddy go?' 'Mama cooking, Caleb help.' The last one is said with such conviction that refusing him would be cruelty. So he helps. He stirs things that don't need stirring. He pours things that should not be poured. He tastes everything, including raw onion (again — he's learned NOTHING from the first incident; the raw onion face was identical). Ryan has been in the field more — spring training, which in the Marines means long days in the desert doing things I can't know about. He comes home at 8 PM, sunburned and sandy and too tired to eat anything requiring a knife and fork. I've started making grab-and-go dinners on field weeks: burritos (wrapped in foil, eat standing up), soup (drink from a mug), sandwiches (no plates needed). Field-week cooking. Another subcategory of military wife cooking that nobody writes about. The cooking you do when your husband comes home too exhausted to sit at a table and too hungry to skip dinner. You hand him a burrito and he eats it over the sink and that's dinner. That's 1800. It still counts. Mom called. 'What did Ryan eat tonight?' 'A burrito. Over the sink.' 'Your father ate over the sink for twenty-two years. The sink is a valid dining surface.' DONNA. The sink is a valid dining surface. I'm putting that on a cross-stitch. Made bean and cheese burritos tonight — the field-week special. Canned refried beans, shredded cheese, rice, salsa, wrapped in a flour tortilla. $3 for four burritos. Ryan ate two standing at the counter. Caleb ate one sitting in his high chair like a civilized person. The sink is a valid dining surface. The burrito is a valid dinner. And 1800 is 1800, regardless of which surface the food is consumed on.

Field-week cooking deserves its own cookbook chapter, and this burrito is the first entry. When Ryan walks in at 8 PM with half the Mojave Desert still in his boots, the last thing either of us needs is a recipe with more than five ingredients or more than one pan — so I’ve made this bean and cheese burrito so many times I could wrap one in foil with my eyes closed. It’s the dinner that proves the sink is, in fact, a valid dining surface.

Vegetarian Bean and Cheese Burritos

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 4 burritos

Ingredients

• 4 large (10-inch) flour tortillas
• 1 can (16 oz) refried beans
• 1 cup cooked white or brown rice, warmed
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese (or sharp cheddar)
• 1/2 cup jarred salsa, plus more for serving
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: sour cream, hot sauce, shredded lettuce

Instructions

1. Season the beans. Pour the refried beans into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Heat through, stirring occasionally, about 3–4 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Warm the tortillas. Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30–45 seconds until pliable, or warm them one at a time in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 20 seconds per side.
3. Assemble. Lay a tortilla flat. Spread about 1/4 of the bean mixture in a horizontal band across the lower third of the tortilla, leaving a 1-inch border on the sides. Layer on 1/4 cup rice, 1/4 of the shredded cheese, and 2 tablespoons salsa.
4. Wrap. Fold in the left and right sides of the tortilla, then roll from the bottom up, tucking firmly as you go. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
5. Toast (optional but worth it). Place each wrapped burrito seam-side down in a dry skillet over medium heat for 1–2 minutes per side until lightly golden and the cheese has melted fully. Or skip this step entirely when a Marine needs to eat in under 90 seconds.
6. Wrap in foil. For field-week mode, wrap each burrito tightly in aluminum foil. Serve over the counter, at the table, or at the sink — all valid dining surfaces.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 17g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 58g | Fiber: 7g | Sodium: 820mg