the foodie and the dog

I owe one of my favorite meal ideas to a popular fast food chain. I remember back in college in the 80’s when Taco Bell was a novelty, and a bunch of us would pack up in the car to make the trek.

I just knew not to go on a first date there because the tacos were messy—not pretty. When they came out with their crunchwraps a few years ago, a whole new world of ideas opened up for me. The opportunities are endless—a neat package for leftovers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A nice little pocket of goodies packed inside with a surprise with every first bite. When I’m out running errands and super hungry, I’ll swing by and order a wrap, so no worries TB!

Pizza crunchwrap before folding.

Pizza crunchwrap after heating in a cast-iron pan.

Some tips to make the perfect crunchwrap:

1- Don’t overstuff. If you do, you’ll tear the tortilla. You can use medium or large tortillas, just make sure not to put too much food in. You can always make two, or three.

2- Put your ingredients on the middle of the tortilla, but save the cheese for the last topping before folding. The cheese is like the glue that keeps the folds together when it heats up.

Steak leftovers with cheese, red cabbage, spinach, onions, and peppers.

The stellar Thanksgiving leftovers crunchwrap: turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and cheese.

A stack of breakfast crunchwraps filled with sausage, scrambled eggs, onions, peppers, hash browns, and cheese, with the Bell’s Bold & Creamy Chipotle sauce from Walmart! I usually cut up potatoes and fry in a pan for hash browns, but sometimes I’ll put in a few mini tater tots instead.

Any non-stick or cast-iron pan will do.

3- Watch your pan. Spray a cast-iron or nonstick with an olive oil spray like Bertolli’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil spray to lube it. So Keep the heat medium low, babysit your pan, and flip often. You’ll soon figure out by trial and error how much heat is too much and when to turn over. You want to heat up the filling before the tortilla gets toasted. I go for a nice brown color, but if I’m not careful, an ugly black can happen quickly. You can mash or hold it on the sides to toast the tortilla.

Caprese crunchwrap toasted. Keep it in the pan long enough before browning to melt the cheese.

Ready to eat.

Caprese crunchwrap. Put the cheese on top as it serves as the glue to keep the folds together when heated on that side. I have a little arugula and red peppers in there too.

Pictured here are pizza, ribeye and thanksgiving leftovers, hearty breakfast stack, and caprese. The possibilities are endless. Forgive the blurry ones, I was in chefmode!