Marinated Artichoke + Pepperoncini Recipes - Minced Beef Burritos

Here is another recipe using marinated artichokes and pepperoncini. This one uses ground beef (or any ground meat) and mushrooms for a very textured dish that can be tweaked into either burrito filling, a meaty salsa for oven-baked nachos, or as a hearty sauce for pasta. The recipe here is for burrito filling.

Instructions:
Please read over the instructions first before you start. I’m using a more compact format of recipe for the present because of time constraints. The ingredients have been highlighted in bold text below. These are all approximate measurements, as I’m a “guess it” kind of cook. You may need to adjust your measurements as necessary. Make sure you have your ingredients prepared before you turn on the stove.

1. Heat up a non-stick frying pan with 1 tbsp of cooking oil: high or about 9 on the dial.
2. Add a 1/2 pound of ground beef or chicken, and break up gently with a fork while sauteeing. You do not want to break it up so much that the meat becomes grainy, but you do not want it too lumpy either. Saute until almost brown, about 5 minutes.
3. Add a 1/2 cup of white button mushroom slices, preferably fresh rather than canned. If you want more texture, considering substituting with pieces of oyster or shiitake mushrooms. Reduce heat to medium high (about 6-7). Saute and toss for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add a 1/2 cup of onion slivers - spanish or regular. Saute and toss for about 1 minute.
5. Add the following together:
• Add 1/4 cup marinated artichoke pieces, torn roughly into smaller pieces.
• Add 1/4 cup pepperoncini peppers (aka sport peppers), stems removed and torn roughly into pieces. Or, for a finer flavour, diced up finely.
• Add a 1/4 package of taco seasoning mix (or substitute with curry powder or garam masala).
• Add 1/4 cup of spaghetti sauce.
• Add 1/2 cup of water.
• If you are making a pasta sauce, you make like to pesto, say a 1/4 cup.
• Mix all the ingredients together, reduce heat to medium (5), and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
6. In the last minute or so, add more water if necessary to prevent burning, and add salt+pepper to taste. You do not want the overall sauce to be too runny, especially if you are using the mixture as burrito filling.
7. Warm up the tortillas either on a flat griddle or in the microwave, as per the package instructions.
8. Assemble each burrito, add grated cheese and/or chopped salad mix, if desired.

Enjoy. You should be able to figure out how to vary the menu slightly to get a pasta sauce. If you are going to use this mixture for nachos, you may want to skip the spaghetti sauce all together. Just make sure you lower the heat, as the spices will be more likely to burn. You could also use a sauce-free version for pizza topping.