Smothered Burritos Con Carne

I like Taco Bell.  I do.  I admit it.  I can't help it.  I know it's Grade D meat, I've heard the stories about all the nastiness people have found in their tacos, and all of that stuff.  But drive to your nearest Taco Bell right now, order a Mexican Pizza,  take a bite, and tell me that it's not delicious.  Seriously, I challenge someone to honestly say a Mexican Pizza is not delicious.  Impossible.

With all that being said, I do try to avoid it.  I don't remember the last time I've eaten Taco Bell, but I'm sure it's gotta be over a year ago (maybe two).  The most recent commercials have been killing me though.  Every time I see that smothered burrito, I think, dang!  that has got to be the most delectable food on the planet.  So, being who I am and doing what I do, I decided to try to recreate this at home with quality ingredients that I can control.  And here is what I came up with.  I have never tried the original so I can't really say how close the taste is, but this did turn out really, really good.  And I don't have to be afraid of finding a Band-Aid in my meal!  It's a win-win!

Smothered Burritos Con Carne

Ingredients:

2 lb chuck roast
1/2 cup salsa
2 Tbsp taco seasoning
2 10 oz cans red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese (I used reduced fat)
7 large burrito size tortillas
Rice and Black Beans, prepared according to package directions (optional)
Optional Garnish:  Jalapeno slices, sour cream, more salsa

In your large slow cooker, combine salsa, taco seasoning, and 1.5-2 cups of water.

Now place roast into slow cooker.  If it's not totally covered, just add more water.  Now cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4 hours.  At this point you can prepare your rice and beans, if you'd like to add that to the burrito.  Just set aside til ready to assemble burritos.

To check the roast to make sure it's done, kind of poke it with a fork or spoon.  It should easily flake apart.  Mine looked like this:

Once it's done, remove the roast to a large cutting board.  Allow to cool at least 20 minutes so you can easily handle without burning yourself (like I do every time because I am that impatient).

When it's cool enough, pull roast apart.  I just used a wooden spoon and it easily fell apart.

At this point, remove any pieces of fat.  This roast did not have much, but I did remove all I saw.  Now take a large knife and chop into small pieces.  Remember, this is going to be the filling of your burritos, so you don't want huge pieces.

Looks like the pieces are all pretty small and uniform, which is what you want.  Now, you're almost ready to roll.  Preheat your oven to 325.  Spray 13x9 pan with cooking spray.  Set up your counter top so that you can easily scoop the burrito ingredients into shells and place in the pan.

From left to right, I have my meat, rice + beans (already cooked), tortilla rolling station, and pan.  Now scoop some meat onto your shell.  Remember you're making seven burritos, so try to keep that in mind when determining amount to scoop into each shell.

Now add the rice and beans.  Same ratio, about 1/7th of what you have.

Now tuck in the ends, and roll one side up, then then other.

Place seam side down in your dish.

Repeat with each burrito til you've got all seven in your baking dish.

Now pour the two cans of enchilada sauce over the burritos, allowing it to spill over the sides into the baking dish.

Now top with cheese.

Now bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  It would be best to cover to keep everything soft and prevent browning, but make sure you use the non-stick foil so it doesn't pull your cheese off.  Top with some jalapenos if you like.

I have a shadow.  A furry, begging shadow.

Here is what the final product looks like after baking:

Yum!  Now dig in!

Top with sour cream and salsa.  Enjoy!