Baked Steak Burritos

This is one of those recipes that is made with totally fake ingredients but I thought that if I liked it enough it would be worth trying to duplicate like the macaroni and cheese. In fact, my version might even be better.

First, though, a word on those ingredients. Have you tried to buy cheese lately? Almost all of it is low-fat. Besides not tasting right, it doesn’t cook right. Really nasty stuff. It took some digging around the dairy case, but I finally found some “real” cheese. My fellow Americans, please eat less and exercise more so that we put this low-fat nonsense behind us.

My first quibble with this recipe is the steak. I wasn’t really thrilled at cooking it in half a cup of butter but trying to stuff the tacos with “bite-sized” strips and then trying to actually eat tacos stuffed with “bite-sized” pieces, which kept falling out, made the whole thing a waste of time. This would work much better made with lean ground beef. No need for butter and no pieces of steak sliding down your chin as you try to eat your dinner.

My next problem was the size of the flour tortillas. The recipe calls for fajita-sized tacos, but they are way too small to properly fold and roll. Large tortillas would work much better.

And lastly, one 13x9-inch baking dish is also too small. I was only able to fit 9, not 12 burritos in mine. Which is pottery. I don’t have a glass dish that size.

When all was said and done, this recipe tasted remarkably like chimichangas, a recipe which I don’t believe I’ve ever reviewed here. I hardly ever make it since my daughter left home. She was the one who liked it. I wasn’t thrilled with the taste and all those tortillas were a pain to fill and roll. The best part was that the leftover chimichangas froze well to be thawed and reheated at a later date when I needed something quickly for dinner but had no time to cook.

I froze the leftover burritos. It remains to be seen if they will also thaw and reheat well.

In the end, this recipe just wasn’t worth playing around with. I really have no desire to eat any version of it again.

Verdict: Not bad, but I don’t think that I’ll be making this one again.



Baked Steak Burritos(source: BettyCrocker.com) 

½ cup butter or margarine
1 package (1.25 oz) taco seasoning mix
1 ½ lb beef boneless sirloin tip steak, cut into thin bite-size strips
1 can (16 oz) refried beans
1 package (10.5 oz) flour tortillas for soft tacos & fajitas (12 tortillas)
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8 ox)
3 medium green onions, thinly sliced (3 tablespoons)
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend (4 oz)

Heat oven to 400°F. In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in taco seasoning mix. Add beef strips; cook 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until desired doneness; drain.

Meanwhile, place refried beans in microwavable dish. Microwave uncovered on High 2 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Spread each tortilla with refried beans to within ¼ inch of edge. Top each with beef, Cheddar cheese and onions. Roll up, folding in sides. In ungreased 13x9-inch (3 quart) glass baking dish, place burritos with seam sides down. Pour enchilada sauce over burritos. Sprinkle with Mexican cheese blend.

Bake uncovered 7 to 12 minutes or until burritos are thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.

Recycle: refried beans can, enchilada sauce can

Compost: green onion greens