Crispy Crunchy Beef and Bean Burritos

It’s amazing what a difference a short stay in the oven can make.  Feed your family regular beef and bean burritos and you’ll get, “Meh.”  But make the burritos crispy on the outside and, “OMG these are good!  Can I have another?”  You’ll definitely want to add this to your easy dinner repertoire.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• ½ lb. ground beef
• ½ onion, minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 can (16 oz.) refried beans
• ¼ cup taco sauce
• 1 cup grated cheese
• Tortillas
• Canola oil 

In a pan over medium heat, combine the beef, onion, salt, pepper, and chili powder.  I actually substituted dried minced onion for the fresh because I was feeling lazy. Either will work fine. 

When the meat is chopped up and mixed with the spices and onion, put a lid on for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice.  While it’s cooking, put the beans into a bowl and add the taco sauce.  I like La Victoria, but use whatever brand and heat level is your favorite. 

Stir those together. 

After 10 minutes, return to the meat.  Make sure it’s in fairly small pieces. 

Add the beef to the bean mixture. 

Stir that in.  (I know, this isn’t the most photogenic food ever.)

Add the cheese.

Stir. 

And now for the fun part.  Wait, first you need to preheat your oven to 375°.  Then, line a sheet pan with parchment and lay out a tortilla.  Mine were quite pliable, but if you’re worried yours might crack, just heat them for a few seconds in the microwave. 

Spoon on a bit of the meat/bean mixture.  It depends on the size of your tortillas, but I used probably about ⅓ cup in each one.  Don’t get too carried away or you’ll have oozing burritos before you’re done. 

Wrap the edge around and fold it under itself. 

Fold in the ends.

Then just roll it over and gently flatten.  Voilá! Err… ¡Ahí está! Beautifully rolled burrito.

This is easily enough filling for 8 burritos.  I only made 4 and saved the rest of the filling to use in a day or two.  This is also a small sheet pan, so you should be able to fill 8 burritos and fit them all on one regular sized sheet pan. 

Now here's the secret for making them crispy.  Drizzle on a tiny bit of canola oil.  Think ¼ teaspoon or less per burrito. 

Rub it around with your fingers to cover the entire surface of the burrito.  I prefer using my fingers over a pastry brush for this because it’s easier to get a very light coating, which is what we’re shooting for. 

See?  Nice and shiny, but just barely coated. 

Bake at 375° for 20 minutes.  They’ll be just starting to brown on top. 

Flip them over. 

Then back into the oven for another 10 minutes.  They should be nice and brown now. 

Crispy burrito goodness.  I’m pretty sure ovens are magic. 

What easy weeknight meal would you like to see have a facelift? 

Spanish Rice - Let the Mayhem Begin!

Well, this year it was April that brought the chaos with it, but April-hem just didn't have the same ring to it.  I’m sure May won’t disappoint, though.  Hopefully I can at least get through it this year without a cross country move.  But as you’ll see, I didn’t waste any time getting started with the Mayhem anyway.  But don’t worry, it had a happy ending.  No, not like that, you pervs!  Delicious Spanish rice that’s super simple and is all cooked in one pan. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• ½ of a medium onion, diced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups rice
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• ½ can green chilies (about 2 Tablespoons)
• ½ can diced tomatoes (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 ½ cups water

*This is perfect for making the same week as Mexironi and Cheese because they both use half cans of the same stuff. 

In a pan over medium heat, put 2 Tablespoons of olive oil followed by the diced onion. 

Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt over the top and cook until it’s translucent, then add the garlic.

Stir that in and pour in the rice. 

Stir the rice so that every grain is coated with a bit of oil.  (Does that look like a lot of rice for this size pan?  Nah… it’ll be fine.)

Sprinkle on the chili powder. 

And once again, stir until the rice is all evenly coated. 

Add the chilies and tomatoes.

Stir those in and add the liquid. 

Umm… I said it’ll be fine, right?  Well, here goes nothing.  (May-hem!)

Bring it just to a simmer, then turn the heat to low, and pop on the lid. 

Leave it for 25 minutes.  No peeking!  Well, no lifting the lid, anyway.  This is why I love glass lids. 

Turn the heat off and leave it for another 5-10 minutes.  Then finally, you can remove the lid.  See, I told you it would be fine.  (whew!!)

And lastly, fluff it with a fork.  (D’oh!)  If your pan is as full as mine, you’ll have to fluff it into a big bowl.  Although, I highly recommend either using a bigger pan, or halving the recipe.  Either way it will be fabulous.    

Here at Authors Kitchen, we just can't have May without the hem.  Which month usually brings the most chaos for you?