Quick Beef Burritos

My mother-in-law is a fabulous cook.  She is a master of comfort food.  I love it when Mr. Higgins and I get to spend a week with his parents in Nashville because it means many, many fabulous home-cooked meals and desserts.  Oh, and I gain so many pounds every time I go to Nashville!  Ha!  

So good is my mother-in-law in the kitchen that she's had 15(!!) recipes accepted for publication by Gooseberry Patch.  Let's just say that when I started cooking for Mr. Higgins, I was just a tad intimidated by his mother's fabulous meals.

Mr. Higgins' mom is such a nice lady and she soon started encouraging me to submit a few of my own recipes to Gooseberry.  I'm not generally one to make up my own recipes; I'm usually just a very good recipe-follower.  But I have a few recipes up my sleeve and I submitted two: a burrito one and my Chicken Salad. 

Weeks and then months went by without hearing anything from Gooseberry.  But my mother-in-law said not to fret, they sometimes take years to accept a recipe.  And so I eventually forgot about my submissions.  Frankly, I completely forgot about submitting the burrito recipe.  

And so it was a delightful surprise to get a letter in the mail from Gooseberry saying they were publishing my burrito recipe!  I was aghast!  Sure, I love these burritos but I thought my chicken salad was much more unique. And to make it all even better, my mother-in-law will have a recipe in the same book!  (Due out in January.) How cool is that?!

As it is, I'm going to share with you my burrito recipe.  The idea came from a recipe my college room-mate, SKP, made often - Taco Pie.  My mother started making the taco pie and eventually it morphed into a lower-fat recipe (sans chips) - burritos!  Here it is...

QUICK BEEF BURRITOS

This started out as a taco pie recipe.  Over the years, my mother and I have changed it and tried to make it healthy and easy.  It's a great lunch recipe or a quick dinner recipe.  To make these as a quick lunch for work, freeze them individually and warm in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

1 pound lean ground beef

1/4 cup chopped white onion

1 package taco seasoning

1 (16 oz) can fat-free refried beans

1 (10oz) can diced tomatoes and green chilies

Salt, to taste

5 flour or whole wheat tortillas

2% shredded cheddar cheese

Brown meat and onion in a skillet sprayed with non-stick spray.  Add taco seasoning and lower heat to medium.  Add refried beans and tomatoes, stirring until well combined.  Simmer on the stove, stirring occasionally for five minutes.  Add salt, if desired, to taste.
Warm tortillas in the microwave.  Scoop out meat mixture into tortillas, sprinkle with desired amount of cheese, roll up tortilla and serve.  

*For less spice, add only half a can of tomatoes and green chilies and half a package of taco seasoning.