Sunday, April 15, 2012

Ganado Cafe Burritos.....the Thursday Special

At 18, I ran a restaurant with my mom on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Ganado, Arizona. Right next to the Trading Post, we were the only restaurant within 50 miles. We served the best pie, french fries, hamburgers and breakfast one could ever have. This is the same place I grew up and went to Elementary School. Every day we had a "Special". Our Ganado Burritos were served every Thursday and were always sold out. Like mom's Lemon Meringue Pie, there were never any leftovers! This recipe is so easy, but a bit time consuming.

3 lbs. lean beef stew meat cut into large bite-size cubes
2 large tubs of frozen green chile (don't try to use canned....it won't work)
2 TBSP garlic, minced
salt and pepper

2 TBSP cornstarch (later)

Cut the cubes of beef to large chunk size pieces. Place in a large stewpot. Cover, set heat on the stove to medium. When the meat begins to release liquid and starts to simmer, add green chile, garlic, salt and pepper. Simmer covered for 2-3 hours until the beef falls apart. Mix the cornstarch with a little water to thin and add to the beef/chile mixture to thicken just a little.


Heat large flour tortillas, spread some of the chile mixture on the grilled tortilla, sprinkle with cheddar or cheese of choice. Roll into a burrito. Can serve with sour cream and lettuce if you like.

1 comment:

  1. Running a restaurant was the first job I ever had. It seems to be my passion. Serving really good food to people makes me happy. This recipe was not our creation, but handed down to us by the previous owners. It was such a HIT we didn't even try to deviate from the recipe.

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