Mini Burritos

Did you know, the word burrito translates into 'Little Donkey' in Spanish? And that it supposedly gets its name because it looks similar to the packs donkeys carried? Yeah... me either! But pretty cool hey? 

Wikipedia tells me that 'donkey' translates to 'burro' in Spanish, and the 'ito' is the diminutive form of the word. So I guess, rather than calling this recipe 'Mini Burritos', I should have called it 'Burritoitos?!' ...see what I did there? I added an extra 'ito' to create the diminutive of burritos? ...yeah, it probably doesn't work that way. I never was very good with translation.

ANYwhooo, moving right along, after putting my head down on what to make for this weekend's Super Bowl party (I'm only in it for the food), I thought, why not mini burritos?! They're total Super Bowl food - they're hearty, delicious, and filled with meat, cheese and beans?! You just can't go wrong!

Ingredients:

• Monterey Jack Cheese
• Tortillas, 6 inch or 12 inch halved

Re-fried Beans

• Olive Oil
• 1/2 tsp Garlic
• 1 Onion, diced
•  Salt & Pepper
• 1 can Black Beans, drained & rinsed (reserving a splash or two of the liquid)

Re-fried Beans Pumped Up 

• 1/2 tsp Garlic
• 1 Onion, diced
• 1 Jalepeno, seeded and diced
• 1 small Red Pepper, diced
• 4 oz Cream Cheese

Seasoned Beef

• 1lb Ground Beef
• 2 tbsp of Burrito Seasoning Mix:
• 2 1/2 tbsp Chili Powder
• 2 tbsp Cumin
• 1 1/2 tbsp Paprika
• 1 1/2 tbsp Onion Powder
• 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
• 2 tsp Oregano
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tsp Salt

Instructions:

1) First we start with our re-fried beans. Heat oil in pan, add onion, sauteing until translucent; next add your garlic. Add Salt & Pepper to taste.

2) In the meantime, drain and rinse your black beans - reserving some of the liquid from the beans to keep them moist. Add your beans to your pan, mashing in a little at a time, or pre-mash and toss in. Give everything a stir and ensure everything has heated through and flavours have mingled. Adjust seasoning if needed.

3) Remove beans to a bowl and set aside.

4)  To the same pan, add your ground beef and fry. While you wait, if you don't already have the burrito mix on hand, prepare your seasoning. Leftover seasoning can be stored for future use in an airtight container.

5) Once meat is just about finished cooking, add 2 tbsp of burrito mix and combine until everything is evenly coated. Finish cooking then remove from pan and set aside.
Note: Before adding the seasoning, drain any excess fat. I used lean ground beef and removed about a quarter cup of fat?!

6) Into the same pan, without rinsing, add some oil (if needed), and saute the garlic, onion, jalepeno and red pepper.

7) Once ingredients have softened, cut in the cream cheese and start stirring together until it becomes a creamy paste.

8) Then, a little at a time, add the re-fried beans back to the cream cheese mixture until combined.

9) Now it's time to build!! First start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees - we want that oven ready when the burritos are ready to go in!

Lay out several tortillas at a time to make the process smoother and more efficient. Start each tortilla with a layer of the re-fried bean mixture.

Followed by the beef layer:

Followed by a sprinkling of Monterey Jack Cheese:

Wrap it all together and bake for 10-15 minutes in the oven. The shells will crisp up just slightly.

10) Allow the burritos to cool slightly then slice each one 3-4 times on the same angle for display. Serve up with some sour cream or eat as is - absolutely delish!

Side Note: These were tested on my Burrito-loving friend and they are officially burrito-loving friend approved!