Beef and Bean Burritos

I had never actually made beef and bean burritos until I stumbled upon this recipe over at The Pioneer Woman blog about a year ago. It looked so simple and quick that I had to try it! As usual, I changed it around a bit to make the recipe even more straightforward and to suit our tastes. Of course, it doesn't matter HOW easy a recipe is if it doesn't actually taste good, but I'm happy to report that this one is a winner. Uncomplicated but delicious, my husband especially likes them.  You can either enjoy them as they are (in which case they are highly portable) or lay them on a plate and spiff them up with more El Pato sauce, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro- whatever floats your boat!

I should also say that most of my favorite dinner recipes I don't make more than once a year at best. Not because I don't like them (obviously) but because I love trying new recipes! This is one of those things that I've made at least four times in the past year.

The key ingredient in these burritos is the El Pato tomato sauce. I'd never tried it before this recipe but it's great! It's quite spicy and has tomatoes, chiles, garlic and onion. You can find it in the Mexican food aisle at the grocery store. I'd imagine if we have it here in Alaska, if you're in the United States you'll be able to find it too :) If you can't get it, you could probably just use an 8 oz can of tomato sauce and add a boatload of hot sauce and garlic to it, but no guarantees on how the burritos will turn out! This is what you want to look for at the store:


I'd like to note that these burritos freeze great, too. Just cool them in the fridge completely, then individually wrap each burrito in foil and toss in the freezer.  Remove the foil (obviously) then microwave on a plate for a couple of minutes.  If you thought far enough ahead, you can also thaw the burritos in the fridge, then bake (still wrapped in foil) for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Many apologies for this exceptionally uninspiring photo, my husband was eating them as I made them and I had to take a picture quickly before they all disappeared:


Beef and Bean Burritos

1 lb ground beef (or ground chicken or turkey)
2 16 oz cans refried beans
1 8 oz can El Pato sauce (the yellow one)
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1/2 t oregano
1/2-1 t salt (this will depend on how salty your beans are and your own tastes)
1 lb shredded cheese
12 medium (8 inch) flour tortillas

Brown the ground beef in a skillet and add beans, sauce, and seasonings. Heat through. Put a spoonful of the filling down the center of a tortilla. Top with about a quarter cup of the cheese and fold in the ends of the tortilla before rolling it up. Repeat with the other tortillas.

You can either enjoy them as they are (in which case they are highly portable) or lay them on a plate and spiff them up with more El Pato sauce, cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, sliced olives, cilantro- whatever floats your boat!

Yield: 12 burritos