Stretch Cooking: little burritos, fat chimichangas

I always keep flour tortillas on hand, because they make quick and easy lunches, and because they are a great way to stretch things in a pinch.

Say a couple of friends call at 4 in the afternoon. They are in the neighborhood and wonder if they could stop by for a drink. There is nothing more fun than that, particularly when they bring the wine.

So you're into the wine (or margaritas or whatever), and 5 p.m. becomes 6, and at the patio table, somebody's stomach growls. Doesn't matter whose. The host says, uh-oh, I'd better offer up something to eat. But all I have in the icebox are a couple of bits of leftover braised pork. Not enough for four. Hmmm. I'll chop those up, with the onions they braised with, which with some cheese rolled into flour tortillas will make eight mini- burritos, two each.

These tortillas are the eight-inch size, which you can heat to soften, then roll into them grated cheese and salsa (or chili or leftover veggies or whatever, put in the oven for 10 minutes, and make the easiest, cleanest, fastest lunch in the west. Or the fastest patio snacks for unexpected friends. The larger sizes, 14 inches (or larger, for the "burrito grande") are for making the kinds of burritos you get from take-out places. These I like to feed a passel of family, which includes kids, all of whom would never turn their backs on a hot chimichanga, with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole.

A chimichanga is basically a burrito, fried in oil to a golden brown. Arizonans claim the chimichanga originated in Tucson, specifically at the El Charro Café, where, accidentally, a burrito was dropped into a deep-fat fryer.

Get two packages of flour tortillas, the 12- or 14-ounce size, that come eight or 10 to the package. (You might as well make a lot of them; they freeze nicely.) Brown two chorizo sausages, one pound each, in a large skillet, then add two large cans of refried beans. Blend these well. If you want leaner chimis, you can use a pound and a half of hamburger, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, a pince of cumin and a couple tablespoons of chile powder. But the chorizo variety is better.

In a hot, dry skillet, soften the tortillas, one at a time. Place the tortilla on a carving board and drop half a cup of the chorizo mixture onto the half of the tortilla nearest you. Flip the sides of the tortilla inward, then roll the tortilla from the bottom to make a cylinder. Keep the burritos on a cooking sheet until you are ready to eat.

Heat half an inch of corn oil or peanut oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. CAREFULLY place the burritos into the oil, three at a time. Let brown on the bottom, then flip to brown the other side. Drain on newspapers or paper towels and keep warm in the oven until serving. The ones you don't fry, put in a freezer bag and freeze.