Beef Flautas Supreme

Ingredients

• 12 taco-sized flour tortillas
• 20 oz ground beef
• 2 yellow onions
• 2 tablespoons Southwest Spice Blend
• 2 packets Tex-Mex paste
• 1 cup Mexican cheese blend
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 2 limes
• 8 tablespoons sour cream
• Olive oil
• Cooking oil
• Salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Set the oven to 425°F. Cover a baking sheet with foil and grease it with oil or nonstick spray. Peel and halve the onions. Slice them thinly, then finely chop enough of the slices to measure 2 tablespoons; keep that portion for the topping.
2. Put a little oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the sliced onions for 3 minutes. Add the beef and Southwest seasoning, breaking the meat apart as it cooks. After 4–6 minutes, when the beef has browned and the onions have softened, add the Tex-Mex paste and ½ cup water. Cook for another 2–4 minutes, until the liquid thickens and the meat is cooked through. Take the skillet off the heat.
3. Coat the tortillas with 2 tablespoons olive oil. On one side of each tortilla, put a heaping ¼ cup of the beef mixture and 1 tablespoon cheese. Roll up and arrange on the prepared sheet with the seams underneath. Bake for 8–12 minutes, until crisp and golden.
4. While the flautas bake, finely dice the tomatoes and zest the limes. For the pico, mix the tomatoes with the reserved minced onion, half the zest, a squeeze of lime juice, and salt. For the crema, mix the sour cream with the rest of the zest and another squeeze of lime juice. Thin with water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it can be drizzled; add salt to taste.
5. Put the flautas on plates and spoon the pico and crema over them.