Make it a burrito night

One of our favourite meals in our household is burrito night. We have a tried and true recipe, which is less of a recipe and more about grabbing a few pantry staples, grating some cheese, and rolling things into some tortilla wraps to pop in the oven. The simplicity and consistency allows us to whip up this meal on even our most brain-drained night. It's quick, there are no decisions to make, there's minimal cleanup, and everyone feels satisfied after finishing their burrito night meal.

While making burritos last week, I had some mental space to think about what else in my life could use a burrito night approach. What else could I do with less effort, more expediency, and still feel satisfied? The first thing that came to mind were emails. I go through periods where I agonize over sending the perfect email. I defer replying to someone or kicking off a new conversation so that I can spend time thinking about what I want to say, how I want to say it, and even whether I want them to receive it in the morning or afternoon or not too close to the weekend. (Tell me I'm not alone!)

A burrito night approach to emails would look like favouring providing information and keeping things moving forward over perfect language and timing. In many cases, folks aren't scrutinizing an email, they're just looking for enough detail to get to the next step in whatever they're doing. So just like burrito night, they want quick and satisfied over fancy and unique. And if I miss a small typo or forget the attachment and have to immediately reply to attach it - that's still better than delaying hours or days to get to a perfect email.

A burrito night approach to doing laundry looks like grabbing whatever is nearby or urgent and getting a load pulled together, rather than trying to organize the whole household to queue up their hampers on a certain day of the week. It means focusing on being satisfied that you have washed, dried and put away each load, rather than having a highly efficient approach. (If you do have a highly efficient approach to laundry that you can stick with, please share your secrets! This chore continues to baffle me with its unendingness.)

Where can you take a burrito night approach in your life? What can you do to favour speed and satisfying the need over precision and perfection? What stories are you telling yourself about why something needs the extra effort or polish, and how can you tell a different story about getting things done in a satisfying way instead?

My clients use coaching to get intentional about where they invest their energy. If there are areas of your life that seem to take more effort or end up less satisfying, let's talk about how coaching can help you make intentional changes. Get in touch by booking a discovery call.

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Quick and Satisfying Burrito Night Recipe

Ingredients and tools

• 2 cans of refried beans - we like the Old El Paso beans available near the taco kits in the grocery store

• 4 servings of Spanish rice mix - our favorite is Ben's Original

• Cheddar cheese, grated - we use about 200g or about half a block, you can use more or less depending on how cheesy you like things

• 8 large tortillas

• Salsa and sour cream to serve

• Spoon

• Can opener

• Baking sheet

• Parchment paper or silicon baking mat

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
   

2. Cook the Spanish rice according to package directions.
   

3. While the rice is cooking, line the baking sheet with parchment or the silicon liner, and arrange the tortillas on the baking sheet.

4. Spread 1/4 can of beans down the centre line of each tortilla.

5. When the rice is ready, spoon an equal amount into each tortilla on top of the beans.

6. Sprinkle cheese over the rice.

7. Roll each burrito into a tube. The trick to a good burrito roll is to make it tight so it doesn't flop open!

8. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or just long enough to melt the cheese.

9. Serve with salsa, sour cream, or other condiments of your choosing. Serve alongside salad or sliced veggies for a bit more variety.