It’s Monday, that mean it’s Mexican for dinner! Years ago, in order to reduce the stress of planning my menus I set a theme for preparing our meals a couple nights a week. For probably 20 years now its been Mexican on Monday. Tacos, beans and rice, enchiladas, and chimichangas!
These little tortilla packets of goodness are available at all the Mexican restaurants, and a favorite of my family. Because eating out is a rare treat for us, and because everyone in the family will eat these, and because my husband asked me to, I created my own recipe for Chimichangas. I have no idea how close to or far from ‘authentic Mexican’ they might be, but they make my family happy. Maybe your family will enjoy them as well!
Linda’s Chimichangas
You will need:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil (or any veg oil)
- chicken, cooked/shredded
- onion, thinly sliced
- bell peppers, any/all colors, thinly sliced. jalapenos or other hot peppers could also be used if you like.
- 2 cloves garlic (or more!), crushed
- seasonings – salt, pepper, cayenne, cumin, etc. A packet of taco seasoning would work, too.
- diced tomatoes, canned or fresh
- flour tortillas, burrito or taco size, 1 or 2 per person
- toothpicks
- hot oil for deep frying
Like many of my recipes, I do not measure much and adapt as I go, depending on how many I will be serving and what ingredients I have on hand. I generally cook for 8 when I serve chimicangas – approximately 1- 2 cups cooked chicken, 2 cups sliced peppers, 1/2 – 1 cup sliced onion usually makes enough filling for 8 chimichangas.
- Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a skillet. An iron skillet is my preference for this recipe, but any good sized skillet will do.
- Thinly slice peppers and onions. Add to skillet.
- Add garlic and seasonings to taste.
- Saute until vegetables are soft and translucent.
- Add cooked chicken and diced tomatoes enough to add moisture and flavor but not enough to make mixture soupy.
- Heat until hot and bubbly, adding more seasoning if desired.
- Spoon mixture onto center of a flour tortilla.
- Fold sides in, and then top and bottom. It will look like an envelope.
- Secure with a toothpick, catching a bit of the tortilla layer underneath.
- Repeat with remaining mixture and tortillas.
- In a deep fryer, or on the stovetop, cook one chimichanga at a time. Follow the regular instructions for your particular fryer or for deep frying in a pot on the stovetop. If you have a larger fryer, you could probably cook more than one at a time. Mine is on the small side. Mine cook maybe 3-4 minutes each, depending on size and thickness and temperature.
- Remove from fryer. layer on paper toweling while you finish the others.
Take out the toothpick and serve them up with your favorite mexican sides, including rice, refried beans, lettuce, avocado, salsa. And cheese!
I share more about food and feeding my family in my Hidden Art of Homemaking Series and you can see all the recipes I’m collecting on my Food – Main Dish Pinterest Board.
Sharing this post at Motivation Monday and some of these wonderful places.
This looks great, Linda!
Blessings 🙂
Thank you, Kath! I hope you’ll get a chance to try it for your family one day.
Yum! I used to love to eat chimichangas before I went gluten-free. I’ll have to try these with GF tortillas and make the regular ones for my teens. Thanks for sharing.
I’m sure there’s a delicious way to fix these gluten-free. I wish you great success – happy eating!
Oh my, that looks soooo good!
I also like theme nights. They really aid in meal planning, don’t they?!
thank you Cheryl. LOVE having theme nights when I can fix supper on auto-pilot 😉
I can definitely see these being a huge hit around here. I’m pinning for next week’s menu. 🙂
Thank you Rosilind! I usually get a comment like “you’re the best cook ever” when I serve these up. I hope your family enjoys them as much as mine does!
Ohhhh they look and sound good! I’m going to try and make those next week.
They are good – and it’s a great dish to get the kids helping. The scooping and folding after everything is cooked is a lot of fun when everyone pitches in. Let me know how they like it!
Yum! Thank you for sharing. I didn’t know this was a real food, it’s been used as a nickname in our home when we are being silly. *big smile* Have a great day. Sincerely, Mommy of two growing blessings & so much more!
oh how cute! I hope you get the chance to try these chimichangas on your little chimichangas 🙂 I’m so glad you stopped by today!
Yum! We normally eat ground beef chimichangas, so this looks like a tasty alternative. Will have to give this a try. Thanks.
I sometimes use ground beef, Lisa. You could also use leftover roast or steak. Even go vegetarian, depending on what you have on hand. It’s a very adaptable recipe. Thank you for stopping in for a visit, and Enjoy!
Ooooh! Yummy! 🙂 I am going to try these. Thanks for linking up with “Try a New Recipe Tuesday.” I hope you will be able to join us again this week. http://our4kiddos.blogspot.com/2014/03/try-new-recipe-tuesday-march-4.html
I’m so glad I ate right before I saw this, or I’d surely be hungry now! Thanks for sharing this recipe and the photos.
thank you for the sweet comment 🙂 and I hope you get the chance to try these soon!
YUM! My fav order when we go to a Mexican restaurant with lots of pico de gallo on the side! Thank you Linda for linking up with us at the #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty 35! Shared x 3.