Home Made Burritos - Nothing better than that!

I have to say I wasn't used to eat burritos before, they are only popular in some of the northern states of Mexico, but it is not well known in the rest of the country or even as popular as it is outside of Mexico. Burritos are a traditional food at Ciudad Juárez which is in the northern state of Chihuahua where they tell the story of a man who used to sell tacos in a street stand. He used a little donkey (burrito) as transportation for himself and the food during the Mexican Revolution. To keep the food warm, he came up with the idea of wrapping it in large home made flour tortillas and people started calling it "Burritos".

Maybe the reason that this has become such a well known dish outside of Mxico is the fact that it is so filling and versatile. You can add almost everything you like to it and it will still taste great.

Here in Canada I've only been to a couple of places that sell burritos, but I really wanted to cook Home made Burritos, as I believe food always taste better when it is home made. I found a great recipe at "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" blog that I used as a benchmark to cook my own burritos. I added and changed a couple of things but in the end the result was perfect! I really enjoyed my burritos, and they do taste better than what I've had out there.

Home Made Beef Burritos

Ingredients:

4 tbsp Canola or vegetable oil

1 1/2 whole Medium Onion

1 can of Tomatoes

Salt And Pepper, to taste

Cumin, Oregano, Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper

3 cloves of garlic

2 pounds Ground Beef

Refried Beans

¾ cups Grated Cheddar Cheese

12 Flour Tortillas

Extra Grated Cheese, For Sprinkling

Extra Sauce, For Drizzling

Cilantro Leaves

Sour Cream

Avocado

Green Chiles

Green Onions

Directions:

First prepare the salsa. Heat the 2 tbsp of oil in a saucepan, then add 1 chopped onion, and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook just for 1 min, then add cumin, Oregano, chili powder and cayenne pepper, mix everything together and add the can of tomatoes. Cook until the liquid of the tomatoes has been reduced by half and then let it cool down. Once it is cooled down use your food processor and puree it until it has the consistency of a nice salsa, when you puree it don't forget to add the cilantro, it will give the salsa a perfect flavour. If it is too thick you can add some water to make it a little bit more runny.

Once you have the salsa, using the remaining oil, brown the ground beef with onion and season to taste. Pour in some of the salsa and simmer over low heat. Add water if mixture gets too dry.

Heat refried beans in a saucepan. Add cheese and stir in till melted. Keep warm.

Heat tortillas in a pan just to get them flexible so it is easier for you to assemble. Spread a small amount of the beans on each tortilla. Add the meat. Fold over ends, then roll up. You can warm them again in the pan (don't do it on the microwave as it will make everything soggy, use the pan so you give the tortilla some texture). Heat the red sauce before serving so when you sprinkle with cheese it will melt nicely. Serve immediately.

You can also serve them with sour cream, cilantro and avocado on top.

Mmmmmmm Burrito!