In good old Eugene, it’s usually not too difficult to find somebody in the wee hours of the night willing to taxi you to Taco Bell. Sometimes, when Qdoba just won’t cut it or Uly’s isn’t open, it’s very much a necessity. But what happens when you are craving T-Bell and there’s nobody sympathetic or sober enough to help? Or, if you’re in my situation, and you’re studying abroad with scarce an alternative to a Crunchwrap Supreme, what are you supposed to do? Well my friends, here’s a (slightly modified) Crunchwrap recipe that will satisfy your tastebuds.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
Total Time: 25-30 minutes
Serving Size: 1
Photo by Savannah Carter
Ingredients:
½ pound of ground beef (or ground turkey if you’re feeling like a lighter substitute)
½ tomato or 3 cherry tomatoes
¼ white onion
2 large flour tortillas
1 tablespoon of taco seasoning
Spray olive oil
Cheddar cheese or queso dip
Tostada or regular tortilla chips
Optional: 2 small jalapeño peppers or ½ bell pepper (depends on desired heat level), salsa and sour cream
Directions:
1. Heat a sautée pan on medium heat and spray some olive oil in it. While heating, chop tomatoes and onions.
Photo by Savannah Carter
Tip: You will sautée the onions but, if desired, chop up some bell peppers or jalapeños to mix with the tomatoes, which you will add later. I didn’t have a cheese grater so I also chopped up some cheese.
2. Brown the onions and add ground beef. Mix in taco seasoning while browning.
Photo by Savannah Carter
Tip: Depending on how much meat you’re actually cooking, the process may take around 15 minutes. A good way to tell if it’s done is to make sure all of the beef is consistently brown, with no pink left, as shown below.
Photo by Savannah Carter
3. Cut 1 large flour tortilla into fourths and leave the other one whole.
Photo by Savannah Carter
4. On the full tortilla, place meat in the middle.
Photo by Savannah Carter
5. Next, add the chips (or 1 whole tostada chip.)
Photo by Savannah Carter
Tip: Tostada chips work better because they are round but, if like me you don’t have access, regular chips work fine, just crush them up a little so the edges don’t poke through the tortilla)
5. At this point, if you’re digging the sour cream and salsa idea, throw some of that on the chip(s). If not, add tomatoes and whatever other veggies you’ve chopped up (e.g. onions, jalapeños, bell peppers, etc.) along with the cheese.
Photo by Savannah Carter
6. Next, place one ¼ piece of the other tortilla atop your mound of taco-filling goodness.
Photo by Savannah Carter
7. Fold edges all around to surround the filling and cover the edges of the small tortilla wedge in the middle. Place in a panini maker or other type of Foreman-ish grill.
Tip: If you don’t have access to either of these, a hot pan will do as well. It may help to heat another pan to place on top or something else to hold the folds up before you flip that baby to cook on both sides.
Take a bite and enjoy!
Photo by Savannah Carter