Baked Steak Burritos

These are one of my youngest son's favorite things I make.  They are easy to put together and are quite tasty.  He especially likes that there are always half a dozen or so left over that I keep in the refrigerator so he can heat one quickly in the microwave when he's hungry.  This recipe gets all 9's from my guys on the Melnarik rating scale!

To begin, I melt a stick of butter in a large skillet.  No, this is not a Paula Deen recipe!  I found it in the Pillsbury 40th BAKE-OFF Contest Cookbook.  The original recipe called for drenching the burritos in enchilada sauce and covering that with more cheese, but my husband doesn't care for enchilada sauce, so I skipped that part and it's still a favorite in this house.  Back to cooking:  I add one package of taco seasoning and mix the two together.

In goes the strips of beef.  As they cook, I keep turning them over in the seasoning and butter, making sure each strip is fully coated.

In the meantime, I put the refried beans in a medium bowl and microwave to heat them.  I stir them to make sure they are soft and easy to spread.

I also heat the tortillas in the microwave so they don't break when folding them.  Then I apply a bit of beans just off-center on the tortilla.

Next, I put on the cheese.  I've learned that if I put the cheese on before the meat, once the tortilla is folded and placed seam side down on the baking pan, the cheese will be on top and will melt down into the meat in the oven.  I don't know why I think this means it gets more evenly distributed, but I just prefer it this way.

A few green onions for flavor are added next.

Last on is the meat.  I usually put enough to cover the beans and cheese, but not too much as it makes it hard to fold it into a burrito.  The next step is to fold it into a burrito.  I am by no means an expert at this.  While looking at the photo above, imagine folding the right side of the tortilla over the meat, then fold the top and bottom toward the center over the side you just folded in.  Then, roll the whole thing towards the left over the left side of the tortilla.  Simple, right?

I flipped one around to show you what it should look like when completed.

I place them all on a baking tray (you can see from this photo that mine aren't very pretty or neat) and into the oven they go.  While the first batch is in the oven, I assemble the rest so I can put them in the oven while we eat dinner.  This gives them plenty of time to cool while cleaning up after dinner before putting them in the refrigerator.

I use the soft taco size tortillas, so the burritos aren't very large.  If my guys are very hungry, they'll eat two.  Paired with a southwestern-type salad, one is plenty for me!  Enjoy!

Baked Steak Burritos

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 1/2 lbs. boneless beef sirloin tip steak, cut into thin strips

1 (16 oz.) can refried beans

12 soft taco size flour tortillas

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3 green onions, thinly sliced

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Stir in taco seasoning mix.  Add beef strips; cook and stir 5 to 6 minutes or until of desired doneness.  Drain.  Meanwhile, place refried beans in microwave-safe dish.  Microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes, stirring once.  Place tortillas between paper towels and microwave on HIGH for 1 minute.  Assembling one at a time, spread beans on tortilla just off center.  Top with cheese, onions and beef.  Roll up, folding in sides.  Place seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet.  Repeat with all tortillas.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.