a dish inspired by chips

Most of you guys remember last month when I flew away to Texas, to shoot a little webisode for Frito Lay’s Flavor Kitchen. Well, now I can finally tell you more about it. Why?

It’s going public!!! (I still haven’t seen it yet. Can I tell you how nervous/excited I am?)

And, to celebrate- I’m hosting a GIVEAWAY! Gotta love free stuff, you know?!

(Keep reading for details….)

But, first of all- I want to tell you a bit about what Frito Lay has been cookin’ up. You see, chips are pretty much synonymous with junk.

But, really?

They shouldn’t be. If you take away all the artificial preservatives and flavors…you could have something not too bad. That’s exactly what they did with over half of their product line. How freakin’ cool is that? I don’t know about you, but I love being able to pronounce my ingredients. You can actually see bits of black beans and chipotle peppers in there! Yum. That’s why I’m excited. It’s nice to see a positive change in snack foods, you know?

How do they do that? Well,when I went to Texas, I got all that behind-the-scenes info. Remember this?

Yes… it’s a real kitchen and they cook real food in it. It’s not some laboratory with technicians sniffing vials of synthetic flavors. There are about 20 chefs that work 5 days a week, and cook up different regional cuisines; then they see how those flavors will work in chips. That’s where their new flavors come from. Chef jackets, not lab jackets. Woo-hoo to that! Hey… I like that quote. Oooo- wouldn’t that be awesome if the folks at Frito Lay used one of my quotes? Oh yes- I would totally have bragging rights. (a.k.a. Facebook status updates)

Speaking of chef jackets… I needed one that day with that shirt. Oh boy….yes- they had to tape it on me, because the material was very (a-hem) flexible. Wardrobe malfunction. Eeek.

To celebrate and share these new flavors, they are holding a massive sampling and demonstration event in Times Square in New York City, all week long. Chef Stephen will be there along with Asian fusion chef Jet Tila. It’s part of an event showcasing all of the new natural product line. You can get even more info at Frito Lay and on their Facebook page. And, they have a ton of recipes there, too. I have a “must make” list going with those recipes….

Can you get to Times Square? Me neither… 🙁 Bummer. But! Good news! I have chips for you anyway.

And, I also have a recipe I created that was inspired by a chip. Because it’s not like me to not have a recipe for y’all. You guys know that. 😉 Frito Lay rubbed off on me, and I took their chip and made a dish.. they take the dish and make a chip. Hmmm, win-win.

This dish was inspired by the new Tostitos black bean and garlic chips. It’s easy. A bit spicy, and fun. It uses up leftovers and pantry items real nice, so chances are.. you won’t have to run out to the store.

Speaking of avoiding the store… how about some free chips? I am going to give 25 lucky readers a free bag of Tostitos Roasted Black Bean and Garlic Chips…to enter, just comment at the end of this post.

Contest details:

25 winners will be chosen at random on Monday, April 18th, 2011.

You may also get 2 extra entries by tweeting this post and sharing is via Facebook, so your chances are really good.

Good luck !

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Recipe: roasted garlic and black bean burritos

Ingredients

1 garlic bulb
1 large can of black beans
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 chicken breasts
1/2 c salsa
6 flour or corn tortillas
3 c cooked rice.
2 c shredded cheese

Instructions

Place the entire garlic bulb in foil and roast for 30 minutes at 350, or until soft.
Slice the chicken into 1/2″ sections and cook until no longer pink and the juices run clear. Drain and add the salsa. Keep warm.
While the chicken is cooking, place the black beans, tomatoes, cumin, salt, bouillon cube into a saucepan. Cut the top off the garlic clove and squeeze the roasted garlic into the black bean mixture. Simmer 15-20 minutes.
Place the cooked rice in a casserole dish.
Place a spoonful of the chicken in a tortilla, roll up and place seam side down on the bed of rice.
Continue until all chicken is used up. Top with black bean mixture, reserving a portion of it for garnish. Top with shredded cheese and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.