One of my favorite things about traveling is that I am able to explore a destination through its cuisine. I think that you can tell a lot about a place by the food the locals eat, and I tend to do more research on restaurants for upcoming destinations than I do hotels and activities. It’s all about the food! When I return home from a trip, my creative juices begin flowing in the kitchen; I just can’t wait to try to recreate all of those delicious dishes I’ve eaten while traveling! This is exactly what happened the first time I ate at the BlueIguana Cantina on the Carnival Liberty: I ran home and tried to make a homemade BlueIguana Cantina Burrito!
At the BlueIguana Cantina, authentic Mexican food, is laid out fresh…Your choice of steak, chicken, shrimp and a plethora of toppings. What’s not to love? They even had a huge salsa bar for those who like a little extra heat on their burritos and tacos!
Whenever I cruise on a Carnival ship that has the BlueIguana Cantina on it, I make a beeline to get my burrito as soon as I board. A delicious steak burrito and a sailing day special cocktail…It’s a wonderful way to start a cruise!
We make tacos at home quite often, but I’d never tried making a burrito until I fell in love with the BlueIguana Cantina burritos. I don’t know why it took me so long — they’re quite easy to make.
I have to remember to ask the chefs what kinds of spices they use to marinate their meat the next time I’m on a ship!
I enjoy my burritos with steak, black beans and rice, with simple toppings: tomato, sour cream and cheese. Chris likes grilled peppers on his, so I made a little of those too. You can also add diced onions, or use pinto beans instead of black beans, and white or yellow rice instead of Mexican rice.
Creating a burrito is actually pretty simple, follow this easy recipe to make one yourself!
Homemade BlueIguana Cantina Burrito
Ingredients
- 1 8 ounce sirloin steak, sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- Dash of salt, pepper, cumin
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 1 small tomato, diced
- 1/2 cup diced bell peppers
- shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup black beans or pinto beans
- 1 cup of your choice of rice
- large burrito tortillas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil + 1 teaspoon olive oil
Directions
In a skillet over medium high heat, cook your steak in olive oil. Once cooked, add tomato sauce and all seasonings and stir. This should take no more than five minutes, depending on how thin you’ve sliced your steak.
Meanwhile, in a small pot, saute bell peppers over a teaspoon of olive oil, then remove from heat. Cook your beans and rice according to the package directions – I used canned beans and a microwavable rice pouch.
To assemble your burrito, follow these steps! Make sure that when you add your ingredients, you leave a space on all four sides so that you can wrap it!
Start with your steak, then add a small layer of beans next…
Then add a layer of rice and tomatoes and a bit of sour cream.
Then add your cheese – and your bell peppers or onions!
You want to wrap your burrito like you would a homemade envelope. Fold two sides over like so…
Then bring the side closest to you UP over the ingredients, then repeat with the last flap.
See, I told you that was simple! I don’t serve any sides when I make tacos and burritos at home because with meat, veggies and a tortilla, and rice and beans ride inside, a burrito is really a complete meal!
As much fun as this was to make…it really just made me want to book another cruise so that I can eat a real BlueIguana Cantina burrito…