South Beach Diet Chipotle Beef Burrito

About a year ago, I encouraged my husband to take part in the meal planning.  I suggested he look through my cookbooks and mark a few recipes he'd like to try with post-it tabs.  Thrilled to be included in "my" domain, my husband poured over my South Beach Diet books and marked a dozen or so dishes.  Over the course of the next few weeks, I made many of the recipes he selected, careful not to change one single thing (my husband often chides me for not trusting the experts and making recipes more complicated than is necessary).  Well, my husband learned that every now and then the "experts" are wrong and the recipes are on the bland side...especially when you're talking about a diet recipe!  After a handful of SBD fails, my husband gave me the go-ahead to tweak recipes as I saw fit and agreed that he'd stay out of the creative liberties I took while making dinner.  Last week I was going through some of the dishes he'd picked out, and somehow I missed this one.  Actually, I'm fairly certain I'd ignored it on purpose, as I'm not typically a fan of chipotles in adobo sauce and I also stand by the phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and therefore believe that Old El Paso's taco kits are just fine, thanks very much.  But, I decided to take one for the team and make this recipe.  And it's fabulous exactly the way it's written, even with those pesky chipotles I normally loathe.  That said, it's even better with a little reduced-fat sour cream and avocado slices.  Or serve it up with guacamole salad for a little South Beach Diet flair!  Enjoy!

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, diced

1 pound lean ground beef

2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, plus 2 tablespoons sauce from can

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 6-ounce bag fresh baby spinach

4 whole-wheat tortillas

1 cup reduced fat shredded Mexican blend cheese

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add beef and cook until well browned, about 6 minutes.

Add chiles, adobo sauce, and beans to beef mixture.  Cook until beans are warmed through, about 3 minutes.  Add spinach, stir to combine, and cook until wilted, 2-3 minutes more.

Lay one tortilla on a serving plate.  Sprinkle about 1/4 cup cheese down the center of the tortilla, then top with one-fourth of the beef mixture (approximately 1 cup).  Fold two sides of the tortilla toward the center, and then roll up to form the burrito.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.  Serve hot.

Serves 4.

Recipe adapted from The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook, by Arthur Agatston.