at the Water's Edge


Living life and learning all I can along the way!

Qdoba-Inspired Queso Burritos

If you’ve never been to Qdoba, you should go.  It’s delicious.  In fact, their queso burritos are so good that I decided I needed to find a way to make them at home.  I’ve come up with what I think is a fairly close approximation to what I can get there.  The one thing that I can’t get quite right is the 3-cheese queso sauce.  If you know how to make this like they do, PLEASE tell me how!


The only problem with making the queso burritos at home is that it does require a fair amount of prep work and a number of ingredients – but it takes less time that it looks like it would.  I will break the recipe into its various parts for you, in case you’d like to try all or part of these scrumptious burritos.  Here’s a list of what’s involved:

Large flour tortillas
Tip Steak, cubed (you could also try chicken, or omit meat for a vegetarian burrito)
Cilantro-Lime Rice
Pico de Gallo
Guacamole
Queso Sauce

And here's how you make each component...

Cilantro-Lime Rice
Ingredients:
White Rice
Cilantro
Lime Juice

Directions:
Cook rice according to package directions.  Once done, fluff with a fork and mix with a couple squirts of lime juice and chopped cilantro to taste.  I usually make 1 cup of rice (dry), which makes more than enough for the burritos – save extra rice as a side dish for another night!

While the rice is cooking, you can start on the rest of it.

Pico de Gallo
Ingredients:
Tomatoes
Onion (white or red)
Cilantro
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Dice tomato and onion.  Add chopped cilantro leaves and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix until well combined.

I usually make a little bit extra pico de gallo and use some of it in my guacamole, since it calls for tomatoes and onions, too.  For detailed instructions on how to make guacamole, click here.  Basic recipe follows.

Guacamole
Ingredients:
Avocado
Tomato
Onion
Lime Juice
Garlic Powder
Salt

Directions:
Mash avocado in a bowl until there are no large chunks.  Dice tomato and onion and add to bowl.  Add lime juice, garlic powder and salt to taste.  Mix well.

Burrito Steak
To make the steak for the burritos, I start with some thin cut pieces of sirloin tip steak and cut into small cubes.  Cook in frying pan with a little bit of vegetable oil and season to taste with a combination of the following spices: salt, pepper, garlic, red pepper, and cumin.

Queso Sauce
My queso sauce is more or less a slightly altered version of the cheese sauce I use for my homemade mac & cheese.  I’ve tried it with roasted poblano peppers, and it didn’t taste quite right.  I’ve also done it with Ro-Tel tomatoes; but, I think I actually prefer it with just the green chiles – at least when making the cheese sauce for the burritos!


Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese (I’ve tried various kinds, but if you can get a blend of Mexican cheeses, it works well!)
1 small can of green chiles
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
Spices: black pepper, red pepper, garlic, paprika, chili powder, cumin

Directions:
Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat.  Add flour and whisk until well combined.  Add milk and stir occasionally until sauce thickens.  In the meantime, you can add spices as you please.  Once sauce thickens, remove from heat and slowly add cheese, stirring constantly.  Once cheese is mixed in, add green chiles.

Now, On to the Burritos!
I like to set out all of the components for a make your own burrito buffet.  Start with the tortilla and fill with rice, meat, pico de gallo, guacamole and queso.  Be careful not to add too much filling or you won’t be able to wrap up the tortilla!  Roll the tortilla up as best as you can – if it doesn’t quite stay together, you can always eat it with a fork!

Enjoy any extra queso dip with tortilla chips!  Yum!!

 

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ABOUTME

Hi there! My name is Dana and I live in West Michigan with my husband, Tom and our dog Copernicus. I created this space as a place to share the things I learn along this journey I call life. I work in marketing and I'm a sort of Jane of All Trades, interested in all things nature, gardening, cooking, exploring and learning new things. This blog is a conglomeration of my interests, hobbies, life and life lessons. Thanks for stopping by!

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