Country Beef Sausage Burritos

I’m not a big breakfast eater, but they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And I have tried to get better at making sure my kids who need good nutrition to fuel their day of school and play, as well as my husband, who needs energy for his work on the ranch, have something to eat that they all will enjoy.

Earlier this year we received our annual Idaho Beef Council calendar. I always enjoy looking through the months to see what recipes they are featuring. I know beef might not be the first protein you think of for breakfast (me neither), but on one of the pages I found a recipe for Country Beef Sausage. And since we have a lot of ground beef in our freezer, I thought I’d give it a try. My family loved it! In fact, I made biscuits and gravy with it as well as Breakfast Burritos.

The other day I had some hamburger I had cooked up, a half a bag of tator tots and some tortillas. I decided it would be a good idea to put together a batch of burritos to have in the freezer. Easy for my hubby to grab as he heads out the door for his day. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled depending on how big a crowd you need to feed or how many you want left in the freezer.

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I mashed up the tator tots and cooked them a bit. I removed them and put them on a plate while I warmed the beef (mine was already cooked and drained) and added my seasonings. (see full recipe below) I also added diced yellow bell peppers and chopped onions. I added back the potatoes and mixed it all together, making sure everything was heated through. It makes a great hash all on it’s own too. You could add some scrambled eggs as well.

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I spooned some mixture into a tortilla. There is an awesome local bakery that makes the best homemade tortillas! I added some chopped fresh cilantro and some shredded monterey jack cheese.

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Fold up the tortilla then place it in a non-stick skillet. I don’t add any fat, oil or butter. I just crisp up each side a little.

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A yummy, on-the-go breakfast with BEEF!

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Country Beef Sausage Recipe (courtesy Beef Checkoff)
It’s easy to double the ingredients if making it for a crowd. I also like to make it ahead of time and have it in the freezer to pull out for different recipes.

1 pound ground beef (96% lean)
2 tsp. chopped fresh sage or 1/2 tsp. rubbed sage1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

Mix seasonings and fresh ground beef lightly, but thoroughly to incorporate the spices. Brown ground beef mixture and cook thoroughly (temp of 160 degrees) and drain if necessary. Yields about 2 1/2 cups of beef crumbles.

You can mix in other ingredients like shredded hashbrowns, eggs, cheese, peppers, onions or whatever else your family might enjoy.

~ Maggie

Categories: Beef, Recipes