Thursday, September 9, 2010

Oven-Fried Chicken Chimichangas

Who doesn't like a good Mexican meal?  And what could be better than a good Mexican meal that ISN'T fried?  Our family loves these chimichangas, and I think yours will, too.  This is a basic recipe.  Feel free to play around with adding additional ingredients.  I think the chimichangas would taste great with the additions of Cafe Rio or Mexican/Spanish rice and black beans!  Oh, and since you're saving so many calories by baking these, you should definitely serve Fried Ice Cream for dessert.  Married to a Mexican has a great video to show you how!


Oven-Fried Chicken Chimichangas
1 1/3 cups picante sauce (we use Pace)
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed
3 cups finely chopped cooked chicken (3 breasts was perfect)
2 cups shredded cheese
4 green onions, chopped (optional)
12 (8") flour tortillas, warmed (if you use bigger tortillas, you will probably only need 10)
butter, melted

Mix picante sauce, seasonings, chicken, cheese, and onions (and additional add-ins such as rice and black beans, if desired).  Place about 1/2 cup mixture in center of each tortillas.  Fold in sides, and begin to roll loosely (you need to leave enough room for steam expansion while it cooks or the tortilla will burst open on a side).  Place seam-side down on baking sheet.  Brush with melted butter (all over; turn it so you can brush the bottom, too).  Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden.  Garnish with additional cheese, guacamole, sour cream, and hot sauce or salsa.  Makes 12 chimichangas.  You can freeze or refrigerate leftovers and re-heat them in the microwave.

2 comments:

  1. I think this is going to be dinner tonight. Thanks for posting the recipe!

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  2. The chimichangas turned out great. I used the King Arthur Flour Baking Book recipe for Flour Cornmeal Tortillas. The cornmeal added a nice flavor dimension. And then I added some of the Lime Rice from Cafe Rio (posted on this site) to the chicken mixture.

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