One Ingredient : 5 Diverse Meals - Tortilla Wraps

That one ingredient in the cupboard that you can rely on to make into a diverse range of different meals and not get bored of  - for many its pasta, and its true the number of dishes you can make, but for me, even more so - it's tortilla wraps!

Such a simple thing - not dissimilar to bread, it provides great carbohydrate nutrition and can be so diverse bringing a range of meals, snacks and sweet treats too!! 

One Ingredient - Five Meals:

1) Obviously and probably most popular is fajitas!!!  These can be diverse in themselves:

The classic for me is fried pepper strips, red onion and quorn chicken pieces coated in a pre-made supermarket fajita seasoning spice mix (with added smoked paprika for an extra kick)

For my sister it would be apple cider vinegar caramelised onion, nandos piri-piri sauce and creamy fried halloumi - whereas when when we were younger, as a Saturday night treat, it would be crisp spring onion, cucumber and hoisin chicken.

Whichever way you like them, they'll taste insane and are always a crowd pleaser! Warming the wraps for a couple of seconds in the microwave first makes them lush and soft too!

2) Next up - Enchilladas - make up a bolognase type mix, reserving some of the sauce to spread over the bottom of an oven prove dish to prevent sticking. This can be with either mince or quorn in a tomato based herby sauce, I often add diced mushroom, peas, onion and plenty of hot chilli powder! Fill the wraps, place them alongside one another in the dish and bake for about 10-15 minutes before sprinkling on a good helping of grated cheese and returning until melted - serve with soured cream (and fresh herbs if you've got them) for the perfect dish

3) Burritos - something I'd never tried until introduced by my housemate. These see the soft tortilla wraps stuffed to the brim with luscious spiced rice 😋 - of course you can make this rice mix up from scratch but I find it just as good using an Uncle Ben's (or such like) spiced rice microwavable pouch - simply cook these (add any fried of diced onion, pepper or bits and pieces like peas to add variety as well as small chunks of meat or alternatives); fill the wraps as much as you can, roll 'em up - tucking in both ends so there's no escaping! wrap in tin foil and place on the oven shelf for 10-15 minutes - these are so filling - I only ever manage one 😂 but another cheap and simple meal with tortillas!

4) Tacos - very different again, these involve stuffing pretty much any filling you like into crispy shell cases. To make the cases all you need to do is stand the tortillas amongst the gaps of an upturned muffin try and bake in the oven for a couple of minutes - it really is that easy! Fillings for these can be anything you like, I think they go well with a fresh tomato salsa, spicy mixed beans, avocado and topped with sour cream - but it can simply involve leftovers from the fridge!

5) Quesadillas - perhaps the most complex but still, if I can do them, anyone can!! First think filling:  there are so many options here - I've had great quesedillas filled with such things from butternut squash to beetroot and cheese! The best in my opinion are bean based - fry of beans with onion and garlic, mash 'em up - add some kind of tomato sauce (I invariably just add chopped tomatoes and reduce these down on a low heat) and plenty of chilli powder, paprika and herbs - to your personal taste! The filling does need to be quite sticky  otherwise it will just seep out the sides. Heat a large, flat frying pan with a little oil and fry off the wraps one at a time - be careful to do this over a low heat as they can burn very quickly! Place the filling ontop of the last wrap to be warmed and cover with another, squash down so that the filling is evenly distributed and after a couple of minutes flip the whole lot! 

See what I mean - one simple cupboard filler and you've got yourself 5 very different meals already! But that's not all... tortillas can also be: 

Wraps - they're ready and raring to go for a quick lunchy meal and a great alternative to the monotonous sandwich- quite simply fill with whatevers in the fridge!

I often opt for raw carrot sticks with cucumber or pepper, they need to be cut quite thinly but placed in the middle before rolling, a little goes a long way. Adding a little sauce (not needed, although otherwise a little dry) helps give plenty of flavour too - I often squeeze in a little mayo or drizzle with sweet chilli

Nachos/Crisps - cut up the wraps into triangle or random shapes, place on a baking tray with a little spray of oil and a pinch of salt and bake or grill for 5 mins - topping with the traditional mexican trio of salsa, guac and sour cream (with of course plenty of grated cheese) and you've got yourself a treat!!!