Comments on: Summer Meal Series #10: Grilled Chicken-Salsa Burritos and Fresh Tomatoes

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:29:48 +0000

Made these and they are AWESOME. We used 3 lbs of boneless breasts and 3 lbs of boneless thighs, homemade salsa, a huge onion, fresh chili’s from the garden, and a big can of diced potato. The cost was super low per burrito and they microwave up great for work lunches. These will be a new staple of my freezer.

Trent, You are the best!

By: Alecia

Alecia — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:24:26 +0000

I have my chicken and salsa (with a little corn and some taco seasoning) in my crock pot right now and I can’t wait until it’s finished!

A quick question, though. Did you freeze the leftovers before or after grilling them?

By: Geekay

Geekay — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:41:23 +0000

I have to wonder if some of the commenters are reading these blogs thoroughly. I doubt Trent is claiming that apples are a vegetable. He states quite clearly that they added onions and bell peppers into their recipe. The pictures are nice, but don’t rely on them to tell you the whole story.

On that note, I have a question about cooking vegetables in a crock pot. Would you add the vegetables in the beginning or would you wait until the last minute to prevent sogginess? I’ve been making a big effort to cook more at home and I haven’t quite mastered the art.

By: darbi

darbi — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:50:16 +0000

Looks delish!

I make grilled cheeses sandwiches in a frying pan (doesn’t everybody?), so perhaps he is using “grill” in that way. If you’re nitpicking about grilling, a George Foreman grill isn’t really a grill either ~ it just leaves grill marks on your food.

By: Sheena

Sheena — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:53:17 +0000

Way to go Melody. I’ve heard that misery loves company but trying to drag others down won’t make them feel any better. Trying to bring others up on the other hand…

By: Jenn

Jenn — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 04:34:27 +0000

@ Alexandra “but it is taking the place of what would be served as a vegetable in this meal.”

The applesauce, made from a fruit, took the place of strawberries. Strawberries are usually also fruit. Just sayin’

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:16:24 +0000

AMEN Melody!!!!

By: Melody

Melody — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:26:46 +0000

Can I get an “Amen” to #14 Deb? Certainly seems to be some crabby nitpickers lurking around here. I just appreciate the great recipe and thank you , Trent, for posting it.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:44:49 +0000

Actually, he’s not technically sauteing his burritos. To Saute would imply he is consistently moving the ingredients in his pan. He’s probably just browning the tortillas. And if grilling is defined as cooked by radiant heat, that is a more correct term than saute.

By: Cheri

Cheri — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:28:09 +0000

@2 and @30 Um yeah, since when were strawberries and apple sauce (apples) a vegetable??? That’s not a well-balanced meal at all..SMH

Otherwise, I may try this recipe out because it certainly looks tasty..I would use a “real” vegetable though such as green beans, peas, etc.

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:17:55 +0000

A great addition to this would be onion and green pepper, sauteed or grilled fajita style. It would add tons fo flavor and texture…

By: Alexandra

Alexandra — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:09:32 +0000

I think that’s a bit critical. I am sure the author is aware that applesauce is not a vegetable, but it is taking the place of what would be served as a vegetable in this meal. Whether it’s sauteeing or grilling, the process is explained, so it’s no mystery how it is being cooked. The blog is free to readers, and blogging is meant to have an element of spontaneity, so I think a little poetic license is certainly permissable. As Kristine made a rather prominent typo in her comment, I think she might be able to appreciate that.

By: kristine

kristine — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:49:00 +0000

I have been looking at the recipes offered for some time, and wondering where the green veg is. A strawberry is not a veg, nor is applesauce. ( I recommend simply downloading the gov food chart.) Sauteing and grilling are not the same. Hey, I agree this recipe is fun, and it offers something. AND, I know the author has a new baby, which makes you tired and busy. But for goodness sake, when the author has published books, and the blog is a form of livelihood, I sure would expect due diligence on matters of proper terms. I am haphazard and do not spell-check comments, but it is not my profession. At work, I could never be accused of coming off as amateur. I cross my Ts, and dot my Is. This blog, of late, could be construed as amateur. Never-the-less, I continue to read, because the ideas are there. But the writing hopefully will get back to par as life settles down for the author. I have noticed that the book excerpts garner little or no comments. The most commented upon posts are ones that inflame the readers. If I were the author, I would take this as sign that I might want to branch out, and analyze if this particular bog has run its course. I do not think so, but I think it needs more attention to thrive. In his favor, he is one of few bloggers that posts twice a day, which fickle folks like me appreciate.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 21:27:04 +0000

@Evangeline: it’s a reference to sauteing them in the frying pan – he’s confusing grilling with sauteing.

By: Another Elizabeth

Another Elizabeth — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 21:10:39 +0000

Trent, thanks for the great recipe! I tried it yesterday, using salsa made from my garden (This year is my first attempt at gardening and it’s so cool to use my own produce!)and served it with sliced cucumbers, also from the garden. My family loved it!

For those concerned about cooking meat on low in the slow cooker – try it on high for the first hour or so, and then lower the temp.

For the person who asked about freezing, I froze half of mine yesterday in a single layer in a gallon ziploc bag and then took them out today for lunch, put them on a paper towel and just microwaved on high for a few minutes, until they were hot – still quite tasty!

Thanks for the awesome idea!

By: Jill

Jill — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:40:10 +0000

I have to politely “third” the requests to use “literally” correctly and less. Could the meal figuratively come from your kitchen? Could you figuratively put the chicken in the slow cooker or figuratively use the other fork to shred it? If not, then “literally” doesn’t make sense and can just be dropped.

These are good, but my favorite misuse has to be from a tv news report a couple of years ago: “Along the border, Mexican immigrants were literally coming out of the woodwork.” Can you picture a giant wooden wall with people squeezing out of it? That’s what they said. Pretty funny stuff.

Great recipe–can’t wait to try it! Thank you very much.

By: Claudia

Claudia — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 18:09:31 +0000

Do not place frozen meat in a crock pot. They operate on very low heat and the frozen meat will cause the temperature of the liquid to drop even further. There is a potential for growth of bacteria, etc. when cooking meat at the resulting low temperature.

By: Evangeline

Evangeline — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:18:14 +0000

If it’s cooked in the crock pot, then how is it ‘grilled.’ Just wondering.

By: J.O.

J.O. — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 06:34:27 +0000

Don’t forget to chill the burritos thoroughly before placing in the freezer (food safety issue).

By: J.O.

J.O. — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 06:31:50 +0000

@ Bethany

You could check your crockpot manual, but everything I’ve read about frozen meat and crockpots state that it’s not safe to cook from a frozen state. It takes too long to reach a high enough temperature to kill bacteria that may be present. You can thaw meat in the fridge or use the quick thaw method in cold water. Try Googling food safety (choose a reputable site).