Beef Flautas with Avocado Cream Dip

These can either be a great appetizer or an fun weeknight meal.  I serve them with an avocado cream that combines my two favorite tex-mex accompaniments, guacamole and sour cream.  My husband could only really mumble with a mouthful of food.  As best I can tell he said these are really good.  The beans and tomato sauce make the filling thick enough to stop it from leaking out during cooking.  If you switch out corn tortillas for the flour you have taquitos. The salt is varied based on if you are using tomato sauce and beans that have salt in them already or not. I have made this with and without cheese, both are great!

Ingredients for the Flautas:

1 lb of ground beef

1/2 of a red onion, minced

1 jalapeño, seeds removed and minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 -1 1/2 tsp of salt

20 grinds of garlic

1/2 tsp of cumin

2 tsp of chili powder

1 small can of tomato sauce

1 can of pinto beans, divided 1/2 mashed 1/2 whole

1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

Olive oil

Canola oil for frying

Flour tortillas

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan and add beef, breaking up.  Once the meat has begun to cook but is not fully cooked, add in the onion and the jalapeño.  Once the meat is fully cooked and the onions and jalapeño have softened, add the garlic and stir for an additional minute.  Add in all of the spices and stir for one minute.  Stir in the whole beans and combine.  Add in the tomato sauce and the mashed beans and stir until thickened.  Remove from hear and stir in cheese if using.  Fill the bottom third of the tortillas with a heaping line of lilting and roll the flautas tightly.  Heat the canola oil over medium heat until shimmering.  Place the flautas, seam side down, in the oil and fry until brown and well sealed, about 2 minutes.  Flip over and brown on the top side.  If the sides have not browned, be sure to flip and brown in the remaining sides so that the flauta is fully and evenly browned all around.  Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

Ingredients for Avocado Cream Dip:

Flesh of one avocado, mashed

1/4 cup of sour cream

Juice of half of a lemon

1/4 tsp of hot sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine tasting to adjust seasoning. Serve on the side.