Grilled Stuffed Burritos & Guacamole

Parker and I love Taco Bell. And that's probably an understatement.

When we were dating in college (this past spring), late-night Taco Bell runs got us through loads of homework and helped us bond. So American "Mexican" food brings good feelings :)

Our favorite American Mexican item is the XL Grilled Stuffed Burrito. But, at $5 a piece, it's just not worth it.

What's our solution? Make our own.

This is probably our favorite meal :) We use taco meat, the Mexican rice, re-fried beans, and cheese. Sometimes we add fresh chopped onions and peppers, too.

(I don't have many pictures, because my camera batteries died--I'll try to add more later)

Faith's Taco Meat Recipe (keep in mind that many of these are estimations)

1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic or 1 tsp dried minced garlic
1 small onion or 1/2 medium, chopped
1-2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp red cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
salt & pepper (maybe 1/2 tsp salt and few dashes pepper)

Confession time: we use canned re-fried beans and boxed Mexican rice mix. Only costs $1.50 and saves lots of time!

The rice cooks on it's own in about 10 minutes. So easy!

Yeah, I probably could come up with my own mix for it, but I'm usually in a hurry* when I make them, so this is much easier.

Rolling time!!!

I split all the ingredients between 8 tortillas. Especially the beans--who want leftover re-fried beans? Yuck.

And I hold the tortilla in my palm while I layer the fillings. I recommend leaving it on the counter the first few times, so the fillings don't fall out ;)

This is how I layer:

Beans
Cheese
Rice
Beef
Cheese
(Onions/Peppers)

Then, fold it like . . . well . . . a burrito. One long side in tightly, then both short sides, then the other long side.

It's a grilled stuffed burrito, so we cook it on our George Foreman Grill.

Gotta dip it in something! We mix taco sauce and ranch. And/or pile on the guacamole.

Did I mention that we LOVE guacamole?!

We mix in lots of chopped onion, lemon juice, garlic (not too much), salt & pepper, spices (chili powder, red pepper, cumin), and sometimes tomato & green pepper (or salsa).

Some weeks, we become absolutely addicted to guac and make it every few days. The problem is, avocados don't grow in Indiana. So we pay $1.25 per avocado . . . and usually use 2-6 each time. It can break our small budget, so we severely limit ourselves now. Needless to say, we really enjoyed it tonight :)


*"hurry" means we want to eat as soon as possible, not necessarily that we have something to do afterward