I really like Mexican food…
This post isn’t completely about my love for Mexican food. I could argue that it is about making the most out of leftovers. Now that I think about it, maybe its about how you can use leftovers to make Mexican food? Hmm, anyway. This weekend we went to the Three Rivers Arts Festival. The weather was gorgeous so of course it was insanely crowded. Since my entire family is now a family of foodies (yay) we decided the first thing to do would be to hit up the food vendors and then this happened…
Followed by this…
I regret none of it! My chicken “salad” was so delicious, I use the term salad loosely because they threw a bunch of grilled vegetables in there that are not your typical salad topping i.e. cabbage and squash. It was all served in an edible salad bowl which really won me over instantly because who doesn’t want to eat their plate?! The Arts Festival is actually much more than food, it’s when hundreds of artist converge on Downtown Pittsburgh and showcase their masterpieces. It’s an annual event that I remember attending as a child. I remember one year going down at night and sitting on the lawn while Pat Benatar sang some of her hits under the summer stars. In high school we would take the bus downtown after school and run down to get some fried delight while we pretended we knew something about art. Eventually we would end up at the fountain on the point where we would giggle and be teenagers.
When we got home after the Arts Festival we decided to do a traditional Santa Maria BBQ with Tri-tip and all the sides (Ranchero beans, Grilled Garlic Bread and Grilled Salad). The hubby is a huge fan of Tri-tip which if you are not already familiar is a cut of beef from the bottom sirloin. The cut is a triangle shaped muscle which wasn’t widely used but became popular in Santa Maria, California. Since the hubs is from Southern CA he spent a lot of time chowing down on this delicious cut of meat.
Before you get to thinking that you can only find this cut in California I am here to tell you that you only have to look as far as your neighborhood Costco. Sidebar: Costco is amazing and I love walking around trying to get all the samples (isn’t that what everyone says?) also I really love getting hotdogs at Costco, I am not sure what that is about.
Costco sells the tri-tip in a package with all of these wonderful spices marinading away, you literally have to do nothing. Remove from bag, place on grill, cook, slice, eat, savor!
My absolute favorite thing to do with the leftover tri-tip is to make burritos or tacos. This isn’t unusual since there are well known establishments in SoCal that make tri-tip burritos and they are AHMazing. One of the places that I have been to is the Santa Barbara Chicken Ranch. If you find yourself in SB you should try and make a stop and get your Cali BBQ on, yes California does BBQ apparently.
It probably doesn’t surprise you that I take a lot of leftovers and turn them in to mexican food. There really is so much you can do with a tortilla and cheese. I mean, someone could probably open up a restaurant where they just find ways to make everything using a tortilla and cheese. This is the easiest thing to assemble and honestly you can just put whatever you want in your burrito, I left it up to each person to decide what topping they wanted to add. The more options the more creative your burrito making can get.
Ingredients
- Leftover Tri-Tip Sliced and Diced (other steak works too)
- Black Beans
- Refried Beans
- Brown or White Rice
- Cilantro
- Lime
- Sour Cream
- Salsa
- Mexican Cheese Mix
- Jalapeno Pepper Diced
- Tomato Diced
- 4 Flour Tortillas
Instructions
- Slice and dice your tri-tip while cold. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add your tri-tip, saute until warmed through. Heat your black beans and refried beans. Note: I add beer to my refried beans, a mexican beer is preferred. Prepare your rice as directed on package, while rice is cooking chop up  about 2 Tbsp. cilantro. Juice one lime and set aside. Once your rice has cooked add your cilantro and lime juice and lightly mix in with a fork. Season your rice with additional seasoning if desired. Place remaining toppings in bowls or dishes to allow for different topping selections. Be careful when rolling burrito, over stuffing may lead to a messy burrito (still delicious!).
Very good use of leftovers and a
light dinner for a summer evening.
Hehe thanks mom!
mouth watering
I am glad you like it! Thanks for stopping by.
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Sounds yummy! Will give it a try😀
Great, I hope you enjoy!
I added an onion, some garlic & chile powder to the sliced tri tip. Added enough broth to keep from sticking to pan. I put it in my pressure cooker & let it cook for about 20 minutes. It was so tender & moist & tasty. The meat was soooo tender i pulled it apart with 2 forks. I could have had it over rice… but wanted burritos. So I made burritos with rice, refried beans & the tender tri tip. Added the juice from the pan I cooked the tri tip in. It was absolutely delicious.