Easy Cheese Steak Roll Ups, Carne Picada Style

Tonight's main dish was one of my favorites, Cheese Steak Roll Ups. I like the combination of beef and cheese and this dish is one of those "I'm tired and don't want to cook but need to" dishes. Part of what makes it so quick and easy is the use of carne picada, very thin, shredded or almost shredded, beef. From beginning to end, it takes about 15 minutes to prepare. As a plus, this dish lends itself well to a variety of spices and cheeses. Using different ones helps me create a great dish every time.

Here's the basic recipe. Make it your own.

1 cup or so of raw carne picada
1 green onion, chopped (stalk and all)
chopped garlic
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheese, whatever you have on hand

Cook the carne picada in a skillet on medium heat with the chopped green onion and chopped garlic. When the meat is no longer pink, add the black pepper. Stir well and push the meat into a mound in the skillet. Turn heat to low and top meat with cheese. Don't stir - just let the skillet sit on low heat until the cheese is melted.

Once the cheese has melted, spoon some into a tortilla, roll, and eat!

I buy carne picada at Wal-Mart but don't know if the company sells it nationwide or only in certain areas. A Google Image search for it turns up pictures of what looks like ground beef but what I buy isn't ground beef. Again, it's very thin shredded or almost shredded beef. Not ground. While it isn't cheap here (almost $3 a lb) it's less expensive than most beef and the versatility makes it a great meat to have on hand.

I often add dried cumin while the meat cooks and diced green chiles and jalapenos are delicious, too. Mozzarella and Asiago cheeses, some sliced black olives, and a little red sauce give the basic recipe an Italian flair.

In the morning, I'll use some of the browned carne picada in a slow cooker soup and will post that recipe.