Chicken Chimichangas

 Chimichangas are basically deep fried burritos. And a quintessential menu item of every Mexican restaurant here in Southern California. So basic yet so delicious! This is my kind of dish! (And my style of cooking for sure!) It does take a little bit of effort to get these made and on the table, but I promise you they are SO worth it! 

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut up into 8 pieces

2 tsp cumin

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp to 1 Tbs salt (I use 1 Tbs)

2 bay leaves

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 bell peppers, one red and one yellow, halved, seeded, and thinly sliced

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped *optional

1 garlic clove, minced

small amount of olive oil

1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro, about a palm full

1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed *optional

6 large flour tortillas

4 cups vegetable oil, for frying

toothpicks for securing

Directions:

1) Place chicken pieces in a large stock pot and season with next 5 ingredients. Fill pot with enough water to just cover chicken. Bring pot to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to med/low, cover pot with a lid, and let simmer for an hour. When chicken is done, carefully remove pieces to a shallow dish to cool. Carefully ladle a cup or two of the broth to a separate dish; you will need it later. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove skin, pull meat from bones, and shred.

2) Add onion bell pepper, and jalapeño to a large skillet. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Add 1 cup of broth to skillet and let simmer until vegetables are tender and liquid is reduced. Add in your minced garlic. Heat just a minute or two. Add in cilantro and stir well. If using black beans, add them at this time. Heat through and taste to see if you'd like more seasoning. *I usually add a dash of salt and cumin. Remove from heat.

3) Heat your oil over high heat in a heavy, deep sided skillet. I know my oil is ready for frying at about the 8 to 10 minute mark. While oil is heating, prepare chimichangas: spoon about 1 cup of chicken mixture on to the center of each tortilla. Fold the right and left side in the center and roll to form a burrito. *Make sure contents stay secure inside. Secure each burrito at the seam with toothpicks. Using tongs, carefully fry burrito one side at a time. It goes fast! You just want them nice and golden brown. *Less than a minute. Let cool on paper towels. Remove toothpicks before serving.

Garnish with any type of taco goodies you like!

Makes 6 nice sized chimichangas

Just to give you an idea of the yummy goodness inside