Baked Chimichangas

Chimichangas are deep fried burritos. I have made something close to a chimichanga before, only I pan fried them instead of deep frying. Recently I made a new attempt at chimichangas, making them crispy by baking them instead of frying.

Rebekah's Baked Chimichangas

Makes 6-8

Ingredients:
1 tbsp oil

2 or 3 chicken breasts, cut into bite size chunks

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 chipotles in adobo, minced

1 cup of cooked rice

14 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 can of kidney beans

tortillas

oil, for brushing

1) Preheat oven to 350 F

2) Heat the oil over medium high in a large skillet. Brown the chicken in the oil until the chicken is golden on all sides and nearly cooked through. (About 3 minutes)

3) Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes until onion is soft.

4) Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.

5) Add the chipotles, rice, tomatoes and kidney beans. Heat through and remove from heat

6) Place some of the filling in the middle of a tortilla. Fold down the top, fold up the bottom, and fold in the sides. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat until you have made the desired amount of chimichangas, and/or used up all the filling.

7) Brush each with oil. Place sheet in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes until the tortilla is a golden brown color

I served these with sour cream and a chipotle sour cream. To make the chipotle sour cream I minced one chipotle in adobo and mixed it into 3/4 cup of sour cream. These chimichangas were smoky, filling, and fairly spicy. If you don't like heat, I would only add one chipotle to the chicken.

The filling is very versatile. You could swap the chicken for ground beef, or use more beans to make it vegetarian. You could also add cheese, corn, or bell peppers .