freezer cooking - burritos

i'm going to need a bigger freezer.

I'm really excited about all of this freezer cooking.  I have had small bouts of doing this over the past year or so and every time, I am glad I did it.  It is so much cheaper and healthier than running to the drive-through and really doesn't take very much time if you are just stock-piling one thing at a time.

In the past I have frozen quart bags of chili, breakfast burritos, and baked pastas.  I am branching out a little this time.  Monday's event was brown-bag burritos.  No idea why they are called that... ask the Money Saving Mom.  I ran across this recipe on her site a couple weeks ago when I was looking for something I could easily microwave and eat while comforting a screaming baby.  This fit the bill... and while it is already healthier than Taco Bell just because you are controlling everything that is going in there... I made it a little healthier by substituting fat free refried beans (because to me they taste no different than normal beans) and turkey meat.  I also only did half of her recipe because I want to make sure I like it before I make 20 burritos.  Also I don't think I have a pan large enough to do 2 lbs worth of meat plus all of the other ingredients that you mix in to simmer.

I have tried to include an idea of the cost of fixing these but had to guess on the ingredients I bought at Aldi since I had already pitched the receipt when I decided to write this post.  So its my best guesstimate.

Brown Bag Burritos

For 10 burritos- Adapted from Money Saving Mom who got it from Amy's Finer Things

• 1 pound ground turkey ($2.99 Aldi)
• 1 can fat free refried beans ($0.89 Aldi)
• 1 can red enchilada sauce ($1.08 target)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup diced onion (an entire large onion is like <$1 so I'm going to call this $0.10 since I barely used any of my onion)
• 1/2 of a taco seasoning packet (full seasoning packet at Aldi is $0.59  so $0.30)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (negligible)
• 2 cups shredded cheese (I used fiesta blend) (~$1.50 at Aldi)
• 10 burrito-sized flour tortillas ($2.48 Walmart)

Total Cost for 10 burritos: ~ $9.34 = $0.93 per burrito.  I mean come on... why not?

Time to make the burritos: about an hour.

Brown the ground turkey with onions. Drain meat and add all remaining ingredients except tortillas and cheese.

Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Spoon 1/4-cup of the meat mixture onto a tortilla, sprinkle with cheese.  Fold sides in and roll up tightly.

to freeze: Wrap each burrito in a paper towel and then in a foil square (Dollar Tree has pre-cut aluminum foil squares... 25 per box for $1).  Put burritos in airtight ziptop freezer bags and store in the freezer for 2-3 months.

to serve: Pull out desired number of burritos. Remove foil (you can save the foil and reuse it the next time you make brown bag burritos!) and heat a single burrito in the microwave for about a minute or leave the foil on and heat one or more burritos in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes or until heated through.

I tried the pan-scrappings with a leftover tortilla after I finished the burritos.  Pretty tasty!  I think they will be fantastic with a little sour cream!  Very glad I made these.  I just might do a second round of them next week :).