Whole-Wheat Wet Burritos with Kale

When I was Bryce's age, I was obsessed with this little restaurant in Escanaba called The Station Bar that had the world's best burritos- saucy, greasy, cheesy, yummy!   Every now and then, I still get a hankering for a "wet burrito."  There is only one place here in Marquette (Vangos) that even comes close, but they only do them as a special on Tuesday nights. Tonight was not Tuesday, so what was I to do?  Make them myself!

I won't lie and call this health food, although I tried to add my trademark healthy twist. 


Whole-Wheat Wet Burritos with Kale:

I started by browning the meat in a large pan.  I used a pound of local grass-fed ground beef.  When the meat was almost fully cooked, I added:

• half of a sliced onion
• a purple pepper (from the bucket)
• chopped kale (from the bucket)
• a dash of Penzey's Chili Powder
• 4 tablespoons of Penzey's Bold Taco seasoning

Then, I spread whole-wheat tortillas with refried beans and added some of the meat/veggie mixture. 

I browned the stuffed tortillas, one at a time, in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil.  This just made them a bit brown and crispy, which really added to the texture of the final product.

I placed the fried burritos in a glass baking dish with a small amount of enchilada sauce in the bottom.
(I ended up with 10 burritos and used one 9x13 pan and one 8x8 pan).  I baked it at 350 for about 30 minutes, and then topped with shredded cheddar cheese and sliced jalapenos.  I baked it for about 7 more minutes to melt the cheese. 

We topped our burritos with what we liked- I chose:

• chopped lettuce (from the bucket)
• sour cream
• salsa
• guacamole

It was delicious!  You would never know that there was one healthy thing about this meal.  Sure beats Taco Bell!

 a pan of cheesy goodness

 topped

 how can this not make you hungry?

 Hmmmm...what is that?

 I guess it's pretty good

I'd like to say that Bryce inherited my love for the perfect wet burrito.  Unfortunately this was not a huge hit for him.  I have a heck of a time getting him to try foods that are "mixed together."  Of course, it was at least ten thousand degrees in our house tonight and eating was not on his mind all day.  Oh well, the rest of us enjoyed our meal!