Baked Chicken Chimichangas

I love Mexican food although when I eat out I usually have to drink a gallon of water due to the heat of it! For this reason I love cooking Mexican food at home because I can adjust the level of heat/spice to my taste!
Once, when we were staying in Ottawa we were wondering where to eat when out of our hotel room window we saw this sign for 'the best Mexican restaurant in Ottawa' so naturally we decided to give it a try! This was the first time I ever had Chimichangas and I was in love! We had a great night, the food was delicious and we couldn't stop laughing! (unfortunately, the next time we went to Ottawa, it had been knocked down)

Anyway, this weeks new recipe is Mexican- Chimichangas. I know that they are usually fried but I never really fry things in a lot of oil and I love the crispiness the oven gives the tortilla anyway! I used this recipe on blog chef but adapted it quite a lot (through taste and misreading the recipe - shh!). The resulting recipe actually contains four recipes to get to the finished product but please don't let that put you off! This is seriously worth it and doesn't take as long as you might think - I was eating within an hour of starting to cook!

Serves One

Refried Beans (recipe adapted from Good Food)

• 1/4 onion , finely chopped
• 1/2 garlic clove , finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 200g kidney beans , rinsed and drained
•  1/4 tsp smoked paprika 

1. Fry the onion and garlic until softened
2. Add the cumin seeds
3. Add the kidney beans, paprika and a splash of water and heat through
4. Using a potato masher, mash the bean mixture whilst it is still in the pan until you have a rough puree
(If you prefer your food spicier, up the paprika here!)

Salsa (This makes more than you need to serve one but I usually make a batch and use it in several meals!)

• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• Handful of chopped coriander

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl

Chimichangas

• Meat from one chicken thigh cut into thin strips
• 1/3 cup rice
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1/3 onion
• Handful of grated cheese
• 1 portion refried beans
• 2 flour tortillas

1. Fry off the chicken in a little oil until cooked through
2. Meanwhile, add rice, salsa, onion and 1/2 cup of stock to a pan
3. Cook until the rice is tender, adding more stock if needed
4. Add the chicken to the rice mixture and stir through
5. To assemble... put half of the rice mixture in the middle of one tortilla, top with half the refried beans and half the cheese. Fold in all four edges until you have a parcel. Place on a lightly oiled baking tray, folds down and repeat with second tortilla
6. Cook in an oven at 180C for 20-25 minutes until brown and crispy
7. Serve with guacamole (recipe below)

Guacamole (May seem slightly odd, came about from a slight misread of the recipe but I love the result!)

• 1 ripe avocado, mashed
• Juice of 1/4 of a lemon
• 4 tsp sour cream
• 2 cherry tomatoes finely chopped
• Small handful of lettuce, shredded
• Sprinkling of grated cheese

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl
(If you prefer a kick you can add jalapeno peppers here!)

And there you have it! I know that it looks a bit of a faff with four recipes but trust me, it is not as bad as it sounds and it is definitely worth it for the yumminess that is Chimichangas!

Love Rebecca

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