Oven-Fried Chicken Chimichangas

Made these for dinner last night and they were extra-yummy!  I did make a couple of changes, however.  I hate 'chopped' chicken in things like this - the texture just isn't right for me, so I put a chicken in the crock pot, sprinkled it with cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt and pepper, added a little water to the bottom and cooked it all day, shredding it when I got home.  For some reason, shredded doesn't bother me as much as the chopped.  And since my husband and older child would simply *die* on the spot if there were onions OR tomatoes in their food, I opted out of the picante sauce and instead tossed the chicken with homemade taco seasoning (which I just posted) and leftover broth from the cooking.  I had originally planned on pureeing the salsa, but was entirely too lazy to do so last night.  LOL

If you'd rather not butter the tops, I have no doubt you could brush with olive oil or even spray with butter flavored Pam if you really wanted to.  I made some homemade Rice-A-Roni (posted here) to go with it.  Very simple and tasty.

Oven-Fried Chicken Chimichangas

From: Campbell's Kitchen

Prep: 20 minutes
Bake: 25 minutes

Serves: 6

Here's a delicious way to enjoy chimichangas without all the mess from deep-frying...and guess what?  They actually taste better this way.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Pace® Picante Sauce

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed

1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese  (about 4 ounces)

2 green onions, chopped (about 1/4 cup)

6 (8-inch) flour tortillas

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

Stir the picante sauce, cumin, oregano, chicken, cheese and onions in a medium bowl.

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.

Bake at 400°F. for 25 minutes or until they're golden brown. Serve with additional picante sauce. Garnish with cilantro.

Recipe Tips:

Tip: Substitute 2 cans (4.5 ounces each) Swanson® Premium White Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained, for the cooked chicken.

Nutrition Information

Nutritional Values per Serving

Using Pace Picante Sauce: :

Calories 341, Total Fat 17g, Saturated Fat 8g, Cholesterol 61mg, Sodium 672mg, Total Carbohydrate 28g, Dietary Fiber 3g, Protein 19g, Vitamin A 10%DV, Vitamin C 2%DV, Calcium 21%DV, Iron 14%DV

Taco Seasoning Mix

From the Make-A-Mix Cookbook published a bazillion years ago. LOL  Trust me... if you saw the photos in it, you'd understand.  Still a very valuable resource, however.

For my *special* blend, I add an additional teaspoon of ancho chili powder as well as upping the oregano and cumin to 1 teaspoon each. 

Taco Seasoning

Ingredients

2 teaspoons instant minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Instructions

Combine seasoning ingredients in a small bowl or container, package into small jar until ready for use.

To make tacos:

Brown ground beef and drain off fat. Add water and dry seasoning mixture. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 20-25 minutes. If mixture gets too thick before cooking is complete, add a small amount of water to thin. Serve on soft or hard taco shells topped with your favorite vegetables and sauce.