Freezer Recipe: Making Beef and Bean Burritos in Bulk

I got this recipe from an AMAZING book called Fix, Freeze, Feast. A friend had told me about the book a few months ago, we did this recipe for her family, and now I just did it again for my own family. It takes a bit of work, but it is sooooo worth it.

The idea behind freezer meal in bulk is to save you money, time, and sanity. Many of the recipes that I will post are from this book. The authors gear the recipes to buy from warehouse stores like Costco or Sam's where you can often buy things cheaper by the pound when you buy it in bulk. The great thing here is that you are using all of your fresh ingredients before they spoil. You get homecooked meals from scratch, and you have a large assortment on hand for dinner when you need it.

I am HORRIBLE at planning ahead. My husband comes home from work and asks me whats for dinner. My answer? "Ummmmmmmmmm......."

Recipes like this one allow me to have it already made and ready. All I have to do is throw it in the oven. Bam. Dinner is ready.

I'll talk more about freezer meals later with other recipes, but lets get started with these burritos.

As one of the authors of Fix, Freeze, Feast describes these burritos, "We keep these on hand for quick lunches - homemade 'fast food.'" 100% truth right there.

This recipe makes about 40 burritos, so make sure you have room in your freezer for about 6 gallon size bags.

Ingredients:

1 Tray (6 lbs) Lean Ground Beef (cooked)
1 Cup taco seasoning
3 Cups of water
8 15-ounce cans of Refried Beans - any flavor
40 10-inch Flour Tortillas (I happened to buy mine in packs of 6, so I bought 7 of them, making 42 shells)
Mix-ins (Salsa, cilantro, cheese, onion, etc.) optional
Aluminum Foil - Sams sells Aluminum foil sheets. I bought those to save my sanity. It cut down my time for sure.
Gallon size Freezer Bags

Directions:

Brown your ground beef. Doing this much ground beef will take about 20 minutes.
Drain.
Add in taco seasoning and water. Bring to simmer. Let cook until most of the water has evaporated.
Let beef cool.

The next step I suggest is lay out your aluminum foil and your tortillas. I found that doing it this way allowed for my to do about 14 at a time, and I could be sure I added in everything I wanted to. My set up looked like this:

Notice my little helper.

This setup allowed for me to keep track of doing different fillings. I have a strange weakness for cilantro, so I made sure that some had that in there. My husband, however, does not share this love of cilantro with me, so I made sure that I had several groups without it. My kids like their burritos without onions. You see where I'm going with this. Just make sure you group them together and label your bags!

I strongly suggest you do not do this with a 1 year old running around. I turned around to grab something and I found her like this:

She stole a tortilla right off the table!

Once you have your set of burritos like you like them, wrap the burrito (Side note: Did you know that on the tortilla package, you can often find instructions on how to wrap it properly?) and then wrap it in tin foil. My tip for this step would be to lay out your foil and then lay your tortillas right on top. Before you wrap it, you should have something like this:

A burrito for my non-salsa/cilantro/onion-loving children of mine.

Once you have them wrapped, start putting them in freezer bags and put them in the freezer. I repeat, make sure you label your bags! My permanent marker *somehow* disappeared off of my desk. I chose to use some leftover Avery labels instead. Make sure you have the date on there as well.

Yummy goodness!

These burritos are good for about 3 months after you make them. If you're like me, I can eat Mexican food all day long. I know these won't go to waste around this house.

Now I bet you'd like to know how to cook them. Let me tell you. It's soooo easy!

To Cook:

You can thaw them out if you want or just bake straight from the freezer. If thawed, bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. If they are frozen, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

You can also cook them in the microwave if you're in a rush. Unwrap it (duh!), hit "Thaw" and then "Reheat."

Now, when my husband asks me what we're having for dinner, I can tell have an answer and food on the table quickly.

These are also fabulous for when you have guests come over. Ten people from church decide to come over? No problem! Just bust out your cookie sheet and a few bags of your burritos, and you are good to go.

My total burrito count: 41 (it would have been 42 if it hadn't been for some thievery)

Let me know if you try this recipe! I know I love it!