"Leftover Chicken" Chimichangas

My family My husband and I love Tex-Mex food.  I wasn't always a huge Tex-Mex fan but when I met my husband I tried a little more and grew to love it.  One of the things he got me to try was a chimichanga.  I had never heard of this before but it was something that he always ordered.  It's really just a stuffed burrito, or a tortilla filled with cheese and meat, but it's fried -- which makes it so much better than just a burrito.

When we have chicken or beef leftovers, we regularly make a new meal out of it.  I love to make chimichangas because it never tastes like leftovers!  You can use all different types of meat and in different forms, from chopped, to shredded, to ground.  While it does take a bit of practice to get your tortillas folded right, it's not really hard.  You often just have to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't become unfolded during the frying process.

I am not a pro at making chimichangas.  I just do what works for me.  When I originally started making these I tried to follow a recipe the required using egg whites to "glue" the tortillas together and then deep frying them.  That did not work for me.  They popped open every time.  I even tried adding toothpicks.  The insides still oozed out.  Sometimes this method still messes up on me but it's a lot more mess proof for me than other methods I've tried.

"Leftover Chicken" Chimichangas

Printable Version
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Ingredients
Leftover chicken - chopped, shredded, or ground (approx 1 cup)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 burrito size tortillas
garlic salt
cayenne (optional)
Vegetable oil

1.  Pour your oil into a pan about 1 inch deep for frying.  While you're prepping your chimichangas, heat the oil on medium low heat.

2.  Lay out your tortilla and fill the center of it with about 1/4 cup of shredded cheese.  Sprinkle it with your seasonings.  We always use garlic salt and cayenne but you can use your favorite seasonings.  Top the filling with about 1/4 cup of chicken.

3.  Bring the edges up on each side of the burrito to ensure the filling is completely in the center.  Then begin to fold the burrito.

4.  Once you've got your pocket of goodness, place it seam side down in the pan of hot oil.  It shouldn't be too hot or the outside will brown but the cheese inside won't melt.  Fry until the tortilla turns golden brown on the bottom and then flip it (about 5-8 minutes).  

It should have cooked long enough that the tortilla will stay folded up when you flip it but it doesn't always work that way.  You may have to keep tongs or your flipper pressed on the chimichanga to make sure it stays put.

5.  After it's golden brown on the other side, take it out of the oil and place on a plate with a paper towel to absorb some of the oil.

6.  Let it cool and then top with your favorite ingredients.  We like to put queso or melted cheese on them but tonight, we just had them plain with a little salsa on the side.