Oven-Fried Chimichangas

Today's recipe is a tried and true favorite of mine. It's so simple and versatile that a lot of times I don't even have to go to the store for anything.

I found this recipe on fromthegalley.blogspot.com awhile ago and I've made several changes, but that's the great thing about the recipe. It allows for creativity. :)

First things first: cook the chicken. Now you can cook the chicken breasts any way you see fit, but I thawed them in the microwave and cooked them in a pan with some fajita seasoning to make them more "mexican". If you want to just continue cooking them in the microwave, go right ahead or boil it. Just cook it somehow! lol


It should look something along the lines of this, when its done:


After the chicken is done, set it aside to cool long enough to be able to handle. To shred the chicken, I'll put one breast at a time in a medium sized bowl and pull it apart with two forks. Again, this is a thankless process but looks SO much better than chopped chicken.

Go ahead and preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a large bowl, mix together 1/2 of the salsa, cumin, oregano, chicken, green chilies, and 1 cup of the cheese. (This is when you can add ANYTHING you like to the mix. I've used black beans before, onions, roasted red peppers, etc...)


I ended up making 5 chimichangas out of this batch, but it depends on how much filling you put in each one. Just use your judgment on filling the tortillas.


This next part can be a little tricky/frustrating, but just do the best you can when folding them up. I fold the ends in first and then roll them up.

They should look something like this:


Go ahead and dump the rest of the salsa all over the chimichangas and top off with the rest of the cheese.


Pop the little dudes into the oven for 20 - 25 minutes.

.....DING!

YAY! They're done!! :) Yummers!

I normally serve them with reduced-fat sour cream because I love sour cream!

Well, that's about it. I told you this recipe was super easy! Enjoy!!

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Oven Fried Chimichangas

Ingredients:
1 24oz. jar of salsa, divided
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried crushed oregano
1 small can of diced green chilies
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
2 cups shredded cheese
5 burrito size tortillas

Condiments of choice (sour cream, extra salsa, green onions, red peppers)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°

Mix together 1/2 of the salsa, cumin, oregano, chicken, diced green chilies and 1 cup of the cheese.

Place a medium amount of the mixture in the center of each tortilla.

Fold opposite sides of the tortilla over filling and then roll from the bottom up and place seam-side down on a lightly greased baking dish.

Pour the remaining salsa over the top and sprinkle with the remaining cup of cheese.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes (cheese should be melted).

Serve with condiments of your choice.

Mexican Casserole

A long time ago, I found a recipe for a Mexican casserole that I never got around to cooking. Well, I pulled it out of my binder the other day and decided it was time to make it since it seemed simple enough. Therein lied the problem. It was too simple and I thought it could use some JAZZING up!

So here is my take on the Mexican casserole. Keep in mind, you can make this recipe your own VERY easily by adding black beans (which I may do next time) or anything else you think might fit the taste buds of your particular crowd.

Firstly, preheat the oven to 400°F and then combine the Bisquick, eggs, milk and salt & pepper.


Next, I browned the ground beef along with the chopped onion.

Once that is done, drain the whole thing. I usually put my colander on a stack of paper towels on top of a plate. That way i can throw the lot out afterward and not worry about all that grease going down my drain.

I put the meat/onion mixture back into the pan and added the corn, Rotel, jalapeños, green chilies and taco seasoning. (If you don't want it to be as spicy, add half or 3/4 of the seasoning instead of the whole packet.) Give the whole mess a good stir to mix everything up well.


It doesn't matter what type of baking dish you use, just so long as it will all fit. And *remember* the Bisquick WILL RISE - so a deeper dish would probably be best. So let's put everything into that dish now!


The original recipe called to add the green chilies in a ring around the edge of the mixture, which I did. But after eating it, it was kind of weird and gross to get a big, ole' forkful of slimy green chilies - so this is when i decided mixing them up with the rest of the veggies would be a good idea. Granted, it does look cool... but no one will know because you'll have covered it with awesome cheesy, Bisquicky goodness.

Just ignore the green ring around the cheese in the following picture. This is the step where you would cover the whole meat concoction with half of the cheese.


Now cover the whole thing up with the Bisquick.


Then the rest of the cheese!

Pop that bad boy into the oven for 30 minutes!


And after 30 minutes, you should be pulling the following loveliness out of your oven.


I couldn't wait to try it so I grabbed a big, metal spoon and scooped myself out dinner.

I don't see why you couldn't maybe add a dollop of sour cream along side it or anything you think might add to its enjoyment.

So there it is - super simple, yet so yummy!!

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Mexican Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds, ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can green chilies, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can Rotel, drained
2 Tbsp sliced jalapeños (optional)
1 package taco seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups Bisquick
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 ¾ cups Mexican blend cheese, shredded (divided)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to at 400°F

Combine Bisquick, eggs, milk, salt and pepper.

In a large pan, brown the ground beef with the onion. Drain and put mixture back into pan.

Add the corn, jalapeños, green chilies, Rotel, and taco seasoning (If you don’t want it to be very spicy, add half to three quarters of the package).

Mix well and put into baking dish.

Spread half of the cheese over the top.

Pour Bisquick over the cheese and finish off with the rest of the cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes.