Christmas Notebook

Tacoritos…delicious. The entire family gave them a big thumbs up.

Not hard to make, at all. If your family and/or friends like tacos, burritos, Tex-Mex, etc., they will enjoy this. And I must say, as good as they were, they were even better the next day. Next time I make them, I will consider baking them ahead of time, then reheating in the oven or microwave to serve.

The original recipe, as far as I can tell, was a prize winning recipe at Taste of Home. I’m not a member of the site, so couldn’t access the recipe. I found it on the Noble Pig site, where it had been adapted a bit. I adapted it a little more, so here’s my version.

Tacoritos

3 T. butter
3 T. all-purpose flour
3 cups water
1 T. chili powder [Original recipe called for 3 T. chili powder...I used one tablespoon and added 2 T. cumin for a little less heat.]
2 T. ground cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. dry onion flakes (or you can use fresh onion, diced, 1/2 c. – 1 c.)
1 lb. ground beef [I used the leanest available.]
1 lb. bulk pork sausage [I used Jimmy Dean regular.]
1 16 oz. can refried beans
8 flour tortillas (8 inch)
3 c. (12 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese [I used sliced pepper-jack and sliced provolone, as that's what I had on hand.]

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour until smooth. Allow to cook for a minute or two to cook the flour.

Whisk while gradually adding the water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened. Stir in chili powder, cumin, minced garlic, and dry onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the beef and sausage [and onion, if using fresh] until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in refried beans; heat through. You can make the filling with beef only, if you like, but I must say that the addition of sausage to the filling is much better than beef alone.

Spread 1/4 cup sauce in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.

Spread a tablespoon of sauce on a tortilla; place 2/3 cup meat mixture down the center. Top with a 1/4 cup cheese.

Roll tortilla and place seam side down in prepared dish. Repeat until eight tortillas are done. My pan isn’t quite 9×13, so they are rather crowded.

Pour remaining sauce over the top; sprinkle with remaining cheese. I used slices, as that’s what I had. Worked just fine.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

After 20 minutes, I turned the oven off and left the tacoritos in the oven until DH came home from work…maybe 30 minutes. They were perfect.

~~Rhonda