Last night I had some hamburger I needed to use up, and I was dying for a good-tasting Mexican dish. Since 3 out of the 4 people in my family could not eat tortilla’s last night, I bought some fresh spinach leaves to wrap the meat and cheese up in. The end result? Amazing! I just love dinners like this that are so simple yet oh so good. 🙂
The kicker that did it for me was the Boar’s Head brand Havartti cheese with jalapeno that I found at Fred Meyer. That cheese is so delicious! Of course, since this cheese is a treat for me, my family had to settle for regular cheddar for their wraps. 🙂
I cannot eat any pre-mixed spice mixes, and so I looked online and created my own Mexican spice mix that I added to the meat. It was very mild but had a great Mexican flavor. I like things a bit more spicy, so if I was cooking just for me I would probably add just a titch more of each spice. But for my family who does not like overly spicy foods, this was perfect for them. Here is what I did:
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1/4 cup white onion, finely diced
I cooked the onion and garlic over medium high heat in a cast-iron skillet for a minute or two to soften them and get some of the juices released. I then just dumped the meat and all the spices in the pan, mixed well, and cooked until the meat was done. For my son I simply put the cheese, meat, and spinach leaves in a tortilla. For the rest of us, I took the best and biggest spinach leaves, put in some meat and cheese, rolled it up, and served. It was great! Next time I make this meat, I’ll probably make some homemade pico de gallo to add to it. The dish didn’t need it, but I love a fresh pico de gallo and would love to add it to the flavor profile here. 🙂
