It's all very cyclical...freezer burritos

I've got a confession. 

This whole crock pot, 52 recipe-testing thing has an additional purpose.  An ulterior motive, if you will.  It's helping me to completely EMPTY my freezers and pantry in preparation for some freezer cooking days I have on my schedule later this month.  So really...killing two birds with one stone here.  And I must say...the crock pot and the freezer dance a beautiful tango together.  It's all very cyclical, and goes something like this:

1. Every so often a friend and I pool our money and purchase a 1/4 beef from a local ranch to split, and the meat comes to us cut, wrapped, and solidly frozen.

2. I thaw something...let's say, a roast, (or several pounds of ground beef, or ground chicken...) and then cook it into...let's say, taco filling, in the crock pot for shredded beef (or on the stovetop, for ground beef...or ground chicken).

3.  We eat it for dinner that night.

4.  The next day I take the leftovers, add some cheese, and maybe some refried beans, and what-have-you, wrap it all up into dozens of burritos and freeze them individually.

5. Voila!  Homemade "convenience food" to go into lunchboxes or for breakfast, lunch, snack, or dinner!

You see?!  It's the Ciiircle of Liiiiiife!!!  Ok, well maybe not of LIFE...but it is a circle.  It's the circle of freezer-to-crock-to-freezer.

Freezer Burritos to the Rescue...

 

Because, ya see, when 5:00 rolls around and I've been running all day, or in that early morning crunch time when people are trying to scramble out the door with lunch for later in the day, a big hunk of frozen meat just ain't doing me any good at all.

 

My family are burrito purists:  they like the classic combo of refried beans, cheese, and taco meat in their burritos.  Freezer burritos are art, not science.  They work with LOTS of variations. 

My family is also very big on freezer burritos I make with leftover Slow Cooked Beef Fajitas here , and also leftover crockpot Lime-Salsa Chicken here . 

 

Now me...I like a nice breakfast burrito made of scrambled eggs and bell peppers, taco meat, cheese and salsa.  Others in my household do not like the salsa IN the burritos, but will dip their burritos in salsa as they eat them. 

Either way, a little container of guacamole on the side for dipping makes a fabulous lunch.  Pack some veggies and dip, or little salad, and that lunch is a winner. 

We've also taken these camping, at my cousin's suggestion ;) and they were SO convenient.  (By "camping" I mean in a camper, with a freezer and microwave...does that count as camping?)

 

We were out all day yesterday.  When I got home late afternoon I just had to time to thaw and cook up some ground beef taco meat.  Now, if I'm cooking taco meat it's never just one pound.  If a pan is getting dirty, by George, it's gonna have to give me more than that!!  2 lbs. is just a easy to do, and then you get a few freezer burritos out of that deal.  Better yet, make 4 lbs. 

 

Rudy's gluten free tortilla:

 

 

Now GF tortillas can be a little tricky sometimes and may crack a little.  To minimize this, I find they are more workable if I let them come to room temp. first.  And if they crack, no big deal.  When they get heated later on the cheese makes everything come together just beautifully.

 

Refried beans...

 

 

Cheese...

 

If you are allergic to dairy, or lactose intolerant, I'm not sure what to tell you...freezer burritos do pretty much require cheese, or they won't hold together.  I don't tolerate dairy very well myself, so tend to eat it on an occasional, rather than every-day basis, but these burritos just gotta have at least a little cheese to work.

 

Meat...

 

 

Last night's leftover taco meat.

 

Wrap.

 

 

See?  There's a crack on the right side of it...no worries.

 

Label and freeze....

 

 

To re-heat I've found that mine go directly from freezer to microwave, no thawing required.  I wrap them individually in a paper towel to absorb moisture, heat in microwave 1 minute on one side, then flip, and the other side usually only needs about 15-45 seconds. 

 

They will be HOT coming out of the microwave, so please be careful, and wait a few minutes before eating. 

 

About a decade ago I used to make freezer burritos with O'Brien potatoes, beef, black beans and cheese, and those went in the oven...it was an old "Taste of Home, Quick Cooking" recipe.  That old recipe I used back in the day is long gone, but a quick search brought up another one that looks good, and gives oven baking directions if you want to go that route instead of the microwave...I've not tested this recipe personally, but it looks very similar to the one I used back in the day.  Here's that link for you.