Turkey Burrito

One of my favorite restaurants is Ol' Mexico. It's this funky place in a strip mall, very close to my work and my sister's house. It's one of her favorite restaurants too. Actually, I'm pretty sure we're going to have them cater our Minnesota reception. I love the idea of a taco bar and I don't think you can find tastier tacos than at Ol' Mexico.

One of my other favorite places is El Loro in Eagan. I rarely go there now because I don't work or live in Eagan or nearby but I will occasionally make the trip for a lunch date with Kiz. They have a super-cheap lunch menu and my favorite item, the chicken chimichanga is very simple, but comes with beans and rice and is smothered in a delicious queso. Oh the queso. 

A few weeks ago, Senor and I went to Ol' Mexico for dinner and I've been more or less obsessed with the place ever since. I had their barbecue beef chimichanga and let me tell you, it was like a religious experience. Long story short: (shredded beef > ground beef) + (bbq sauce > no sauce) = holy guacamole deliciousness. I've taken the lesson to heart.

Since then I've made us bbq beef burritos a few times and they've been pretty delish as well. I don't have the means nor desire to deep fry the whole thing, so while I do love a chimichanga, I do not attempt them in my home. I do smother them with my own queso that incorporates our home made salsa, and top them off with delicious Greek yogurt. Yum!

The other night we got home and were both pretty hungry. I knew we had leftover turkey meat from Thanksgiving, and that sandwiches would be a nice, quick dinner. At the same time, we'd had that same dinner two nights in a row and I felt compelled to mix things up. Thus was born, the smothered turkey burrito.

Friends, it was a fairly genius invention. They took approximately 5 minutes to make which is just the cherry on the sundae isn't it? (What am I talking about? I HATE the cherry on the sundae!) The turkey provided a really yummy and unique flavor that you don't usually get from a burrito. They also weren't greasy or 'juicy' from the meat so they were easier and cleaner to eat. Senor really hates when burritos and tacos leak all over the place. I understand his frustration. The turkey, along with black beans, onions and mozzarella made for a pretty protein-rific burrito. I'm not going to say it was better than the holy trinity of beef+bbq+chimicanga, but it was pretty tasty.

Here's how to make one:

Smothered Turkey Burrito

1 burrito shell
roast turkey meat (as much as you want!)
1/4 cup cooked black beans
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)
chunky salsa, as much as you want
green onions (for garnish and filling)
Greek yogurt (garnish)

for smothering sauce:
cubed velveeta cheese (1-2 ounces)
salsa
hot sauce
milk

The sauce is really up to you and depends on how much cheese you want, how chunky you want it or how spicy you want it. I like to make it about an even blend of cheese and salsa. The milk keeps it from being too thick and helps make it pourable.

Make the sauce up first. Throw your cheese, salsa, hot sauce and milk into a pyrex liquid measure and pop it in the wave for a minute. You'll want to stir every minute until it's hot and bubbly. That's when you're done with the sauce. Yum.

Everything else gets wrapped up into the burrito except the greek yogurt of course. Feel free to season with hot sauce, bbq sauce, extra queso, extra salsa, whatever. We are actually out of BBQ sauce at our house so the turkey burritos weren't BBQ flavored and they were still tasty. I love finding unique ways to use up your Thanksgiving leftovers!