Beefy Crunch Wrap Supremes

Move over Taco Bell!  When you have a bunch of folks watching a football game, food that can be eaten out of hand is a definite plus!  A crunch wrap supreme is one of my favorite menu items at Taco Bell, but who knows what the quality of ingredients is that they put in there!  These are really easy to make AND to eat, and more importantly - so easy to personalize, for your crowd!

The official description goes something like this... a soft, flour tortilla filled with seasoned beef, cheese sauce, a crunchy tostada shell, sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes.  Well dadgum.. surely we can manage that, right?!  Heck yeah.  And we will do it with fresh, quality ingredients.  As I've said often, the beauty of cooking at home IS that you can control your ingredients.  For example, choose your favorite style of tortillas (flour, whole wheat, low carb, etc), vary your protein selection (ground beef vs ground turkey), and everything else.  I used the reduced sodium taco seasoning, but it's completely up to you.  That's the whole point!  :)

#tacobell #copycat #mexican #easy #teenfriendly #quick 

#gameday Options for #glutenfree #dairyfree 

Click for Printable Recipe

Ingredients: (for 8 adult servings)

• 1 pkg (8 count) large (burrito sized) flour tortillas
• use glutenfree, lowcarb, wholewheat etc if desired
• 1 pkg (8 count) fajita sized tortillas (quite a bit smaller)
• use glutenfree, lowcarb, wholewheat etc if desired
• 2 pounds of lean ground beef
• use ground turkey for lower fat version 
• 2 packages of taco seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• fresh, diced tomatoes
• shredded lettuce
• 1 jar of queso dip or nacho cheese sauce
• Doritos chips or tortilla chips
• optional - salsa or taco sauce
• optional garnish - sour cream, cilantro.

Step-by-Step:
Brown your ground meat of choice, breaking it up as you go.  I am using 93/7, which is a very lean beef. (93% lean, 7% fat)  Tip - you could certainly use ground turkey if you want to cut down on the fat even more; but if you do, I recommend adding additional seasonings to it (like a concentrated beef flavored 'flavor boost' packet), and leaving the pieces a little larger.

2 pounds ground beef

Even though I used lean beef, there is still fat in the pan, so I am draining the fat out with a colander.  I really don't want fat dripping out of my crunch wraps.

Add in 2 packages of taco seasoning, and water called for per packet directions.  Add in the ground cumin as well.  For the taco seasoning, choose the brand and heat intensity of your choice.  I am using a reduced sodium version.  I will bring the mixture up to a boil, then reduce the heat until the sauce thickens up a bit (about 5 minutes or so).  Turn off the heat when you get to saucy - not drippy and not dry. 

2 packages of Taco seasoning

1 1/2 cups water

I am adding extra cumin, because I like that smoky, Mexican flavor...but there is no heat attached to it, so it won't be "too much" for my little ones.

1 Tbsp ground cumin

And we are already ready to assemble!  To the large, burrito sized tortillas, add a layer of cheese sauce.  You could use a queso dip of your choice, or even a prepared nacho cheese sauce.

queso dip

Layer on the saucy ground beef, fresh lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and chips.  Make sure you leave a nice border all around it so you can fold the tortilla up.

The original version uses a tostado chip here.  If you have some on hand, by all means use them.  You could also used tortilla chips.  I happen to have some Doritos (yep - lots of school lunches are made here), so I am using them.  These will give me that crunch, but also some extra cheesiness.   Cover the whole area of topping with the chips.

Alright, now take your smaller tortillas, a bowl, and a sharp paring knife.  We are going to make a "lid" for the topping.  This 6" diameter bowl happened to the perfect size for what I needed.

Place the tortilla lid over the filling.

Wrap it up!  Just start on one side, folding the bottom tortilla over the top. Continue sequentially all the way around, holding the folds in place. 

Here we have it.  It looks like a tortilla spaceship, huh?

Place your wrap (spaceship) into a heavy pan.  I added nothing to this pan.  I am browning them dry without any oil.  Find something heavy to press the wrap down.  It could be a panini press like this, a small heavy pan, or even a brick covered in aluminum foil.  You just need a weight.

Flip the wrap when the bottom is a beautiful golden color and brown the other side.  The folds should stay together fairly well now, after all that heat and pressing.

Cut each in half.

... and just look at all the loveliness!

Serve with sour cream, lime, salsa, cilantro, taco sauce, you name it!  Add whatever your choice of condiments is.  Now seriously, does the thing you pull out of that Taco Bell wrapper ever look this good?!  I doubt it.  Now go find yourself some hungry teenagers!!

Enjoy this recipe?!  I sure hope so!  I have PLENTY more for you to browse through as you are looking for some great recipes for your family.  Click on over to my Recipe Index and have a look!

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Here are some "bonus" recipes for you.  Click the links to go directly there.
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Written Method: 

The idea here is to create a complete package of crispy tortilla with all the wonderful "inside stuff" you want.... saucy ground meat, cheese sauce, fresh produce, crunchy chips, you name it!  But even the large, burrito style, tortillas won't be big enough to completely enclose the filling.  You'll need to cut circles out of the smaller tortillas as a "lid" for the bottom tortilla.  We did this by just cutting a circle around a bowl with a sharp paring knife. 

Brown your ground meat, then add the taco seasoning, water and cumin.  Adjust the seasonings as you see fit.  Turn the meat off when sauce has thickened and reduced - about 5 minutes. 

Add your filling to the large burritos - cheese sauce, beef, lettuce and tomatoes, chips, and taco sauce if desired.  Add the smaller tortilla "lid" over the filling.  Start folding the larger burrito up in sections, going around the circle sequentially. 

Add the burrito to your griddle or skillet over medium to medium high heat and use something heavy to press the wrap as it grills on the bottom. I had more success with grilling seam side up first.  Flip when the bottom browns and grill the other side. 

Remove from heat, cut in half and serve with your garnishes - sour cream, cilantro, taco sauce, etc.