For Pumba, who's experimenting with Mexican cuisine - Chicken chimichanga

[Beth E. (NJ)]

I got this one from Nikole and I have made it numerous times. My family (even the kids!) love it.

This it typed out pretty much the way she initially posted it but I have added a couple of notes which are marked with astericks.


Chicken chimichanga
Ok.... First let me warn you...I don't measure...
Take a couple of cans of cream of chicken soup (I usually use like three or four reg size or say one or two of the family size...but I like lots of sauce.) ;-) **
Take a fairly equal amount of sour cream. Mix well, add a can of chopped chili peppers, add some sautéed onions and green peppers (both are optional if you wish), spread a little bit of this mix in the bottom of a 9x13 pan (so tortillas won't stick). ***
Add to that mixture some chopped cooked chicken (I either boil up a whole chicken, save and freeze the broth.... OR if I'm being lazy, I buy the frozen pre-cooked chicken.)
Fill up some tortillas, roll them and place seam side down in 9x13 pan. Spoon left over sauce over the top (that's why I like lots of sauce...), sprinkle with cheddar cheese. (You can also sprinkle some cheddar inside each tortilla if you like also.)
Bake at 350 till bubbly!!!



**A couple of notes: I use a couple of cans of soup, but I have found that I don't use an equal amount of sour cream. I use slightly less but I eyeball it and go for a nice consistensy in the mix.

***I put in the onions and peppers after I have put some sauce in the bottom of the pan. This way I am not wasting the onions and peppers.

 

[pumba]

anniversary alone.......I couldn't even figure out what It was.....so I pointed to it.......thanks a million.....I am definetly going to try this......

 

[piratesmate]

I really like chimichangas, but the only place I've had them is Chi-Chi's. I looked for quite a while for a recipe/copykat for the Chi-Chi's version & finally came across a "baked" version on recipesource.com I never made them, though, because I like the sauce & thought these sounded too dry.

Last night I came across this old post & used it to make a combination of the two. We really liked them (the sauce was great!) but I found the cinnamon a little strong in places. Evidently, you should mix the spices into the salsa BEFORE adding to the chicken! (The spices sort of got "stuck" in between the 'threads'.) Also, I baked the plain chimi's for 10 min before putting the sauce over it - then baked another 10 'til bubbly.

Oh - one other thing - I had 8" tortillas, not 10" ones. I got 11 chimi's, not 6. It took almost the whole can of refried beans, but one chimi was plenty of food. (I did toss in a little cheese, too.) Can we say left-overs?!?!

Here's the baked version I found:

CHI CHI'S BAKED CHICKEN CHIMICHANGAS

2 1/2 C. cooked chicken, shredded
2 T. olive oil
1/2 C. chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 T. chili powder
16 oz. salsa (mild or spicy)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt (if necessary)
6 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 C. refried beans
Olive oil (for basting)

Garnishes
Sour Cream
Guacamole

In large saucepan, sauté onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in chili powder, salsa, cumin and cinnamon. Stir in shredded chicken. Let cool.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Grease a rimmed 15 x 10 x 1 baking pan.
Working with one tortilla at a time, spoon a heaping tablespoon of beans down center of each tortilla. Top with a scant 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture. Fold up the bottom, top and sides of tortilla; secure with wooden toothpicks if necessary. Place chimichangas in greased baking pan, seam side down. Brush all sides with the oil. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and crisp, turning every 5 minutes.

NOTE: The tortillas wrap better when warm and/or one side is dampened first.