California Burrito with Grilled Zucchini

WINNER WINNER Kristen from, Dine and Dish was the winner of the hot dogs! Congrats lovely! Email me at ohsweetbasil(at)gmail(dot)com!

We are getting quite a bit of zucchini out of the garden, as I imagine many of you are. The only problem is, I’m a little tired of using it in the same way. I swear there are 50 recipes posted on the same day for zucchini with quinoa, couscous, zucchini pizzas, and grilled veggie medley. Couldn’t we be making something a bit more exciting? Like, California Steak Burritos with grilled zucchini and corn, drizzled with a smoky crema, salty cotija cheese and spicy salsa.

This is one of those food blogger moments (and I have these quite often) when I would give anything to either make you try this dish yourself or I would even go so far as to personally make it for you. It is that fantastic. The grilled zucchini is absolutely fantastic, the meat simple and juicy, and ooooooooooohhhhhhh the smoky crema. I tell you what, this burrito will knock your socks off. It’s fresh and flavorful, and our new favorite burrito. Hands down. (Continue reading and I’ll tell you about why we ended up receiving a letter to head to court.)

If you haven’t been following along you’ll want to head back to read, and if you’d rather not, just scroll to the bottom for the recipe.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

After losing our job we immediately applied for unemployment. I am sure that while not everyone is willing to talk about such a thing, many of you have probably been in our shoes. Applying for unemployment does not feel good. It’s an annoying process, and our former company was completely ridiculous. When you apply for unemployment you have to prove that you are in fact unemployed and that it was a layoff and not that you quit or were fired. Clearly we needed the company to sign a form saying that Cade no longer worked there. We filled it out, called to let them know it was coming and faxed the form over to them. No response. We did it again. Waited another few days, but nothing ever got signed. So, we started calling, but no one ever
answered and while we did leave messages, no one ever called back. We mailed a letter with the form included. Nothing. Emailed. Nothing. We started calling morning, noon, and late afternoon, every single day. Nothing. We called work force services and they started calling them for us. At one point they finally had to leave a message that said they had two days to return the call or they would assume that he was in fact laid off. They called the next day, and the secretary answered. She had no choice but to confirm the layoff. We had been laid off over a month before.

We received payments for about 2 weeks, and then we received a letter. Said company was asking for a court hearing. They were fighting unemployment. It was the worst feeling ever. We prepared for court and called the other employees that had been laid off. Interestingly enough, they all were going through the same thing. What a dishonest company. One ruled by greed. The more we dug the more it became clear that this company was not a good one. This was how it worked. The company hires new employees, trains them, sets unreal goals that the employees cannot keep up with, lays them off and turns over their leads to the senior account managers. By the time Cade left there was already a new training group ready to take his place.

The day arrived. Court began. And we were nervous. We had our witnesses, said company had none. The judge began by reading over everything and reminding everyone that they were not to speak unless the judge himself asked a question directed at them. And so it began…
(To be continued)

California Steak Burritos 
1 Zucchini, sliced, and drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper
2 Ears of Corn on the Cob
1 Cup Cotija Cheese (Found in the cheese section or the chilled hispanic section, usually by the deli meats and meat department)
1 Cup Salsa (We used Chachies;)
1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped
1 Flank Steak
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
La Crema (found by the cotija cheese)
Chili Powder
Fresh Tortillas

Heat a griddle to medium heat and cook the tortillas on each side until beginning to brown and bubble.
Set aside.

Place the meat out on a platter and sprinkle evenly, on each side with the seasoning mixture.

Heat the grill to high heat. Close the lid and let the grill get nice and hot. Turn the grill down to medium high heat.

Place the meat on the grill and close the lid. Cook for about 6-9 minutes and then flip over. At this time add the zucchini and corn. Cook the vegetables for a few minutes, until grill marks are showing up, and flip to the other side.

Grill the meat for another 6-9 minutes and then remove from the grill, to a plate and tent with foil. Let the meat rest for 5-8 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the crema, chili powder and lime juice in a bowl and whisk until everything is well incorporated. Set aside.

In another small bowl, break up the cotija cheese into little crumbles.

Remove the grilled vegetables to a cutting board. Let the vegetables cool until you can touch them, slice the corn off of the cob and chop the zucchini into chunks.

Slice the meat into thin strips.

Place a little crema on the tortilla followed by, steak, zucchini, corn, salsa, cotija, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Fold in the top and bottom of the burrito, and then, grab the side, pull it up over the filling and tuck it under the filling, continuing to roll the burrito shut. Serve immediately.

Some of my other favorite Mexican dishes,
Mexican Corn 
Sweet Potato Enchiladas with Sweet Corn Crema
Mango Chicken Quesadilla

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