Nicole's Bomb Flauts

Meet Nicole:

I don't know whether it's the cheap Italian-style upbringing, the constant flow of man children in my living room, or the hungriest husband and toddler this world will ever know... But I cook often and in abundance. Although we are never short on friends and family, we are often short on finances, which means buying in bulk and re-inventing that same old ground beef four nights in a row. I've been forced to experiment with countless combinations of standard back-of-the-cupboard ingredients and have come up with many crowd pleasing meals on a shoestring budget.

I love this recipe because you can use any type of meat and you don't need a lot of left overs to make enough for everybody. They also have a great crunchy texture and are easy for kids to eat!

Bomb Flauts

Makes 4 Servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Total Estimated Cost: $5

Ingredients:

8 Tortillas
2 cups cooked meat, shredded, chopped or ground (beef and chicken work well)
2 cups shredded cheese
1 can of black, pinto or re-fried beans
Vegetable Oil (enough to fill your frying pan to about 1/2-3/4 inches)
 1/2 cup of rice (optional)

Preparation:

In a microwave safe bowl add beans (and rice, if using) to your meat and heat in microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until hot. Microwave tortillas for 10-15 seconds before you assemble. This will make the tortillas more flexible to work with. On each tortilla, sprinkle a small amount of cheese down the center. Follow with meat mixture. Roll the tortilla tightly and secure with a toothpick.

In a frying pan, heat vegetable oil on Medium High heat. Once oil is hot, place flautas, flap side down, in hot oil using tongs. Rotate in pan until cooked evenly and tortilla is golden brown, 2 - 3 minutes. Remove the flautas from the oil and drain on a paper towel.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole or salsa, and of course, Tapatio. Enjoy!

 

Nicole Alexander is a mother, teacher and thrifty food enthusiast residing 

in Huntington Beach, CA. She has been one of my greatest friends for the past eleven years. 

The above recipe is one (of many) of her original creations.