chimichangas

Braised Chicken and Tomatillo Salsa

/ jeffreyw

DSC_5607 [1600x1200]This was pretty good though it could have used a bit of spice.  I seasoned boneless chicken thighs with salt and pepper and browned them in oil, then added chicken stock and a sliced yellow onion and a good sprinkle of ground cumin, covered the pan and simmered it until the chicken was falling apart and the broth was reduced.  While the chicken was cooking I roasted a couple of poblanos in the toaster oven, peeled the skins when they were ready and sliced the peppers into ribbons and added them to the chicken.  The tomatillo salsa I posted about here went on top.

The chimichangas are simple but delicious.  Roll refried beans and shredded cheese into a flour tortilla, being sure to tuck the ends in, and deep fry them in 350 degree oil.  Bean and cheese is a common filling but there isn’t any reason not to use whatever you would like.

Mmm… food pr0n – chimichangas!

/ jeffreyw

DSC_5091 [1600x1200]We are breaking in a new deep fryer and these chimichangas seemed a good choice for the initial trial.  These have refried black beans, chorizo sausage, and shredded cheese all wrapped in flour tortillas.  I topped this pair with sour cream and tomato salsa as they lay on shredded cabbage.  I think the cabbage may have been an albino because it was white as the platter.  Cilantro and chopped lettuce add some green to the palette.

Breakfast pr0n

/ jeffreyw

I wanted to use my adobo sauce, the steak strips for this steak and eggs breakfast seemed the perfect spot.  It was very good, all that I had hoped.  I failed to make these eggs as pretty as I had wanted, I was fooling with the deep fryer and the “sunny side up” part got away from me.  I love these deep fried tortillas, nearly let this one go too long, too,  I had a bean and cheese burrito rolled and wrapped in paper in the fridge and was fiddling with it when I saw the tortilla turning crisp.  While the oil was hot I dropped in the burrito – a deep fried burrito is a chimichanga.  I’m glad that, at least, nothing burned.  The breakfast wasn’t quite as pretty as it could have been if I had planned better – the parts and pieces of this came together in my mind as the eggs cooked.  I love cooking breakfast!

Chili Chimichangas!

/ jeffreyw / 3 Comments

Not sure these are chimichangas but it’s very fun to say it aloud.  I suppose they could be burritos or even tacos but I did take the trouble to fry them in oil after they were rolled up and I believe that will qualify them as chimichangas.  Chimichanga…chili chimichanga..  go ahead – you say it now:  Chimichnga!

These are just bog standard chili with beans rolled into tortillas and gussied up a bit with grated cheddar and salsa.

Chimichangas

/ jeffreyw

Mrs J went to a local eatery that was hosting a dinner and an auction to benefit the pet shelter.  It is an upscale Mexican themed place that is pretty popular, enough so that reservations are usually required.  I’ve eaten there before but wasn’t all that impressed with the menu.  They did put together a nice margarita pitcher.

The dinner and auction was a real success, the shelter director estimated the auction take at around seven thousand dollars and thought that the pledged share of the gross revenues from the dinner would exceed that.  Yay for the local eatery!

Anyway, when Mrs J came home she had a doggie bag with the remains of her dinner.  Seems she ordered a chimichanga with the usual sides but thought it a poor effort.  She thought I could do better.  I finished her leftovers and agreed to give it a try.

These are filled with slow cooked pork and shredded cheeses.  They are fairly easy to assemble:  Warm a flour tortilla in the microwave for a few seconds to limber it up, then roll the fillings as you would for a burrito, then use toothpicks or skewers to fasten the last flap shut.  Fry these in small batches in a half inch or so of hot oil until browned on all sides.  It won’t take long.  I kept them warm on a rack in a 200 degree oven.  Serve them with your favorite sides.  Tonight we had Spanish rice and refried beans, with garnishes of sliced jalapenos, sour cream, and tomato salsa.  Yummy!