Better Than Fast Food Crunch Wraps

Today is National Pasta Day. Did you know that? Yeah, but we aren’t doing pasta today. Why? Because it’s Tijuana Tuesday in our house. Pasta dishes are reserved for Tuscan Thursday. And frankly, I’m in the mood for a margarita!

October has just been so crazy busy for us, we’ve barely had a chance to catch our breaths. Earlier in the month, we had a big “set” building project going on at our parish as part of our Eucharistic Experience. I’ve touched on this before – we have turned our parish hall into a Stations of the Eucharistic – a walk-through experience bringing the Eucharistic Devotion to life. Those of us who were a part of it’s creation have been working on it for over a year. Big project indeed.

Anyway, it was a push to the finish line. The Devotion is currently running, has been for three weeks now. During the final sprint to have it all finished and open to the public meant many a night grabbing dinner on the run. Hubby would get home, and it was out the door to built this or finish that.

As luck would have it, there’s a Taco Bell between our house and the parish hall. Truth be told, there’s just about every kind of fast food joint on just about every corner between here and there. We were both in the mood for tacos. Fast food is not something we do very often. As Hubby says, why eat out when you have a chef at home? And if you are going to eat out, make it something you can’t get at home.(Like good French Food).

I don’t know how things are in your neck of the woods, but here the cost of doing business is insane. This leaves companies with one of three choices. You can pass along the cost to your customers, lower the quality or quantity of goods or close your doors. None of those are very good options.

Hubby and I both love Taco Bell’s Crunch Wraps. However; this last dining experience had us asking the question Where’s the Beef? There was a lot of lettuce, and almost no meat. What a disappointment. Obviously the franchise had opted for option number 2.

Still craving a Crunch Wrap, there was only one thing to do. Make our own Crunch Wraps. You know how it is when you get a craving for something when nothing else will do. What’s a Crunch Wrap? Crunch Wraps are loaded tostadas inside a flour tortilla that has then been fried or grilled for that golden goodness. When you make your own, it means you can pile on whatever you like. These homemade Crunch Wraps did not disappoint. So let the Margaritas flow!

Beefy-Chorizo Crunch Wrap
1/2 lb Chorizo
1/2 lb Ground Beef
2 firm Tomatoes
1-1/2 cups shredded Lettuce
3/4 cup Nacho Cheese Sauce
6 tablespoons Sour Cream
6 Jumbo Flour Tortillas
6 Tostada Shells
Vegetable Oil for frying
Hot Sauce for serving
Guacamole for serving

Note: Look for the biggest flour tortillas you can find. It makes wrapping so much easier.

Place a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Place in the oven; warm to 270 degrees.

In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, cook chorizo and ground beef together. As the meats cook, break into small pieces with a metal spatula until nicely crumbled and cooked through. Drain off grease and keep warm until ready to use.

While the meats brown, dice tomatoes and shred the lettuce. Set aside until ready to use. Gently warm tortillas to make them more pliable. Set aside.

Heat about 1/4-inch or so of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While the oil warms, build the crunch wraps.

Lay one large flour tortilla on your work surface. Spread Nacho Cheese Sauce on one side of a Tostada shell and place it in the middle of the flour tortilla, cheese side up. Spoon meat over the cheese. Sprinkle with some chopped tomatoes. Dollop a little sour cream on top of the tomatoes. Finish with the shredded lettuce.

Tightly fold the edges of the large flour tortilla toward the center of the filled tostada, creating pleats. The tostada should now be completely encased in the tortilla wrap. Flip wrap over, seam-side down, and set aside. Repeat with remaining wraps.

When ready, gently place wrap seam-side down into the skillet to fry. Cook wrap for about 2 minutes, until nicely golden and crisp. Turn wrap over, continue to fry another 2 minutes or so, until golden and crisp. Remove wrap from oil, blot with a paper towel. Place on the prepared baking sheet, hold in the oven. Repeat with remaining wraps until all the wraps have been fried.

Serve with hot sauce, guacamole and a side of refried beans. Just don’t forget the margaritas!

---

The heavens proclaim the glory of God