Baked Chimichangas
My Girlfriend and I absolutely love Mexican, we probably have it once a week. Whenever we go out to Mexican restaurants I usually peruse the menu, but then end up getting "the usual"...chimichangas. Now for me, the perfect chimichanga has a nice crispy tortilla shell and a hot and gooey mixture in the middle (in this case chicken). After going out for chimichangas way to much, I figured it was time to come up with my own variant of the dish that would be an easy and cheap alternative for a week night Mexican crave. So, without further ado, the first recipe presented on Happy Valley Chow...the baked chimichanga!
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Lbs. Shredded Chicken Breasts
- 1 Can (4.5 oz.) Chopped Green Chiles
- 1 Package of Taco Seasoning
- 4 Flour Tortilla's (10")
- Egg Whites
- 2 Cups Shredded Cheese (Cheddar, Monterey, Pepper Jack, etc. your preference)
- Taco sauce (if desired)
- Sour Cream (if desired)
- Guacamole (if desired)
- Refried Beans (if desired)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F
Heat 1.5 Tablespoons of Olive Oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the shredded chicken and canned diced green chilies, mix together until incorporated. Add in package of taco seasoning and add water as directed by packaging. Stir together until combined and let simmer, stirring occasionally over medium heat until hot and the sauce has thickened, about 5 min.
While chicken mixture is simmering, wrap tortillas in a paper towel and microwave until pliable. When chicken mixture has thickened lay out the flour tortillas and spread the egg whites on the outside rim of tortillas. Evenly distribute chicken mixture in the center of the four tortillas. Top with taco sauce (if desired) and cheese.
Heat 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil in medium sauté pan on medium heat. Fold the sides in on the tortillas so that they overlap, then fold down the top and fold up the bottom of the tortilla to enclose the chicken mixture in tortilla, should form a box shape like a little package (refer to 5:00 of video). When oil is heated add in chimichangas folded side down and pan fry on both sides until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet and put in oven for about 10 min, until crispy and gooey. Cut, plate and add your condiment(s) of choice. Bon Appétit!
