'Harvest' Some Rock and Roll Beef Wraps

Beef: It's often what's for dinner around here. That makes sense when beef from our cattle herd is in the freezer.

Quinoa is usually not for dinner around here. Quinoa (keen-wa) is one of those trendy foods that ends up on lists like the 10 Top Food and Health Trends in 2013. Quinoa has been a staple of peasants in the high Andes for more than 3,000 years, but now it's peaked the interest of American cooks. U.S. imports of Peruvian quinoa more than quadrupled between 2007 and 2011.  It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal or grain, and it packs 8 grams of protein in a cooked 1-cup serving.
Rock and Roll Beef Wraps inspired me to try quinoa for the first time. Jill made the recipe first and recommended it. It was one of five new lean ground beef recipes developed with Beef Checkoff dollars to use in school lunchrooms to meet the USDA requirements for healthy school meals. K-12 students from five states participated in a pilot test of the new ground beef recipes developed to meet the revised USDA guidelines.

(photo on blue lunch tray was from the Beef Checkoff kitchen. Every school lunchroom needs those blue trays, right?!)

Spinach tortillas would have made a prettier photo, I suppose, but both Randy and I enjoyed the beef wraps. The recipe will likely make a repeat appearance on the Harvest 2013 supper rotation, and we'll see what Jake thinks.

All five recipes developed by the Beef Council can be found by clicking here. The Kansas Beef Council is encouraging Kansas school food service directors to try one of the new ground beef school lunch recipes at home this summer and then add it to their school lunch rotation for 2013-14. As an incentive, Kansas Beef Council is offering to reimburse, up to $10 through September 1, school menu developers for ground beef purchases to try one of the new recipes. I don't qualify, but if you do, you should take advantage of this promotion.

I may try out a couple more recipes, too, and will let you know what I think. But I do recommend Rock and Roll Beef Wraps. Try it and tell me your verdict!

(And, since I'd already bought the quinoa, I tried a salad recipe that I'll share with you soon. Stay tuned!)

Rock and Roll Beef Wraps

 Developed by Beef Checkoff Dollars

Total Recipe Time:  35 to 45 minutes.

Serves 4.

1 lb. ground beef
1 cup water
1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
2 tbsp. dry ranch dressing mix
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 cups packaged broccoli or coleslaw mix
4 medium whole grain or spinach tortillas (7- to 8-inch diameter)
Optional toppings: apple slices, red bell pepper strips, cucumber slices, carrot slices, sliced almonds, chow mein noodles

Cook ground beef in large nonstick skillet over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking into crumbles and stirring occasionally. Remove drippings.

Stir in water, quinoa, ranch dressing mix and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until quinoa is tender. Stir in slaw; cook, uncovered, 3 to 5 minutes or until slaw is crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

Divide beef mixture evenly among tortillas. Garnish with toppings as desired. Fold over sides of tortillas and rolling up to enclose filling.

Nutrition information (without toppings): 418 calories, 12 g fat (3 g satured; 3 g monounsaturated fat), 76 mg cholesterol; 695 mg sodium; 41 g carbohydrate; 6.8 g. fiber; 31 g protein; 6.4 mg niacin. This recipe is an excellent source of fiber, protein, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, iron, selenium and zinc.

Notes: Romaine or iceberg lettuce leaves can be substituted for tortillas.

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I'm linked today to Ashley's What's In Your Kitchen Wednesday. Click on the link to check out other tried-and-true recipes from food bloggers.