Oven-Fried Chimichangas

I love Mexican food.  Probably my favorite genre of food (does food classify in genres?).  The gooey cheese, the crispy tortillas, sour cream, guac, salsa... there's just something about Mexican food.

So after the hubs being away for a basketball tournament last weekend and me shooting a TV spot in Upstate New York last week, tonight was the first night in over a week I finally got into the kitchen.  (Ok, last night we had dinner from the crock pot, but it went into the garbage...).  Not only did I finally get back in the kitchen and was cookin' up a Mexican fiesta, but my favorite Shaw sporadically showed up just in time for dinner.  Good thing we keep our refrigerator stocked with soda for him!

While Mexican food isn't always the healthiest, these chimichangas are baked, not fried.  I used reduced-fat cheese and whole grain tortillas, and sadly, the sour cream we had in the house was no good, so that went by the wayside.  Trust me, while fried foods, full-fat cheese, and sour cream are amazing, you won't be disappointed or miss out on any of that.

Try these!

Oven-Baked Chimichangas

Oven-Baked Chimichangas

What You Need:

• 1 c Picante Sauce 
• 1 tsp ground cumin 
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 2 c chopped cooked chicken
• 1 c shredded reduced-fat Mexican blend cheese
• 8 (8-inch) multi-grain tortillas (I used these)
• 2 tbsp butter, melted 

How You Do It:

1. Stir the picante sauce, cumin, oregano, chicken, and cheese in a medium bowl.
2. Place about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla. Fold the opposite sides over the filling. Roll the tortillas up from the bottom and place them seam-side down on a baking sheet. Brush the tortilla rolls with butter.
3. Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Oven-Fried Chimichangas recipe adapted from Campbell's Kitchen