My husband is one of those people who will literally eat anything. He grew up in a family of 8 children, and there was no room for being picky. All of his siblings are the same way and it is awesome – and amazing. How did his mom do it?? One thing she did is that she always had a garden and so they ate lots of fresh veggies. I have never met people who love to just take a bite out of a tomato like they do. And they all love beets………and Swiss chard. And Brussels sprouts. You get the idea.
So when we got married, my husband was a bit surprised to find out that I had a more ‘discriminating palate’ as I like to call it. Because he is so un-picky (there has got to be a better term for that) he really likes to try new and different foods. He never orders the same thing at a restaurant. Ever.
The longer we have been married, the more his influence has rubbed off on me and I started wanting to try more foods. I remember thinking mushrooms were completely disgusting and were classified as a fungus for a reason. But of course my husband LOVES mushrooms. And so I began forcing myself to eat them over and over in the hopes that one day I would appreciate their unique texture and flavor. And guess what happened? It worked! I now can honestly say that I love mushrooms. I did this with quite a few foods. And even entire food groups. I was never a big Mexican food fan. Enter husband who lives for spicy foods. And now? I LOVE Mexican food.
I am not sure chimichangas are classified as Mexican food, but for my purposes they are. They are typically deep fried and stuffed with beef or chicken and cheese. A big deep fried, meat filled chimichanga would probably feel the same as a pound of rocks sitting in the bottom of your stomach. But they sounded delicious one afternoon and so this is a lighter version I came up with.
The great thing about this Crispy Baked Chimichangas Recipe is that you can switch up what you fill them with. If you can’t have dairy – no problem. Leave out the cheese. If you don’t really care for black beans, then you are loco in the cabeza! Ha – just kidding. Use a different kind of bean. I used 2 kinds of beans for a double fiber experience, plus it gives it is a littler flavor and texture variety.
I used refried beans (without added fat), and mixed them with El Pato Salsa de Chile Fresco. (It is a little yellow can – you can find it at pretty much any grocery store) It gave it nice flavor and a tiny bit of spice. Spread a little of the refried beans, black beans, and cheese down the center of the tortilla. You can add any other filling you want. I kept ours simple for the filling, because you can always add other fresh toppings at the end.
Next fold your tortilla in half and brush with a little of the egg white. I used uncooked tortillas, but you could use any kind you want.
Keep folding in the edges and sealing with a little egg white.
You will end up with a little pouch.
Next you will flash fry the chimichangas. Put 1 or 2 teaspoons of oil in a pan and heat over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, place the chimichangas in the pan. Cook each side for about 1 minute until it is golden brown.
Place on a baking sheet covered in foil Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes.
They come out hot crispy, and gooey inside. Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, cilantro, and sour cream or plain yogurt. We LOVED these. I wasn’t even super hungry when they came out of the oven, but I ate an entire one by myself.
Try them out on your deep fry lover!
Crispy Baked Chimichangas
Ingredients
- 6 medium tortilla, whole wheat
- 1 large egg white
- 15 ounce refried beans, canned, fat-free
- 1/2 cup enchilada sauce
- 15 ounce black beans, canned
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Toppings
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- 1 medium tomato, red
- 2 tablespoon cilantro
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Add egg whites to a bowl and mix with whisk.
- Stir the enchilada sauce into the refried beans. Add beans to the middle of tortilla, and sprinkle with cheese.
- Begin folding tortilla. Start with one side and fold up an inch and then fold sides and then add more egg white where you make the last fold.
- Flash-fry chimis by placing in a pan of 2 tsp oil on medium-high heat. Heat on both sides for 1 minute until golden brown. Place chimichangas onto a pan covered in foil, seam-side down.
- Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
