Cheesy Chimiladas

What oh what, do you ask, is a Chimilada? A Chimilada is my own brainchild- it is what would happen if a crispy delicious Chimichanga and a saucy, succulent Enchilada had a love child.

I love to cook, but I'm not one to crave foods very often, even when I'm pregnant...but I do crave "tastes"...I will crave the tastes of different herbs and spices combined together, and then I go look for recipes that will fulfill my needs...this usually results in my finding 4 or 5 different recipes that I like bits and pieces of, so I put the bits and pieces together. Sometimes its just okay, sometimes its a disaster...and then there are nights like tonight when I hit it out of the park...

My husband isn't a big fan of Mexican food and he said, "Wow, this is actually REALLY good." (I'm not surprised he was surprised, when I'm on my weird taste craving kicks dinner in our house can be really interesting.)  When my husband says something is good, I know I have a keeper!

So- here for your viewing pleasure (and possibly your tasting pleasure) I give you Mexican 'a la Brittany- the Cheesy Chimilada!

For the filling you will need:
1 lbs ground beef
1/2 to 1 onion chopped (onion can be put in to your taste)
2/3 cup salsa or picante sauce
1 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup shredded cheese (I use Colby Jack)

 Put the onion and ground beef into a fry pan, cook until the meat is browned.

 

Then, add the salsa, cumin, oregano, and salt. Simmer until most of the liquid has cooked away. 

 Remove from heat, then add the cheese.

 

 Stir until the meat becomes a cheesy, gloppy mess (ie the cheese is evenly distributed throughout the mix)

Heat oven to 475 degrees

 Warm six 8 inch tortillas in the microwave (to make them more pliable). Butter one side of the tortilla.
 Place it butter side down on a small cookie sheet. Spoon on the filling and wrap, leaving the seam side down (Yes, your hands will get buttery or margerine-y depending on what you use, life and cooking are messy...you'll be fine!) See the wrapping steps below:

tuck and roll!

You're the master of the burrito wrap!

Once all 6 are wrapped, place in the heated oven and bake for 10-13 minutes (check at 10 minute mark, some ovens heat faster than others, I know in mine they are done after 9 minutes or so) You want the tortillas to be crispy to the touch and lightly browned.

See the brown, crsipy edges?

For the sauce:

In a blender blend:

1 can diced tomatoes (drained)

 Then add:

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp oregano

1 tsp Cumin

2 tsp sugar

3-5 tsp Chili Powder (to taste, I find that 3 heaping tsp fulls is plenty)

2 tsp onion powder

Blend again- taste test to see if you need to adjust the spices

 Then put into sauce pan and simmer for 10 minutes

Once the filled tortillas are crisped up, spoon the sauce over the top and then cover with cheese. Don't use all the sauce! You will need it for plating! I usually find that I use about half to sauce for this part- By the way, this part turns a Chimichanga into a Chimilada...so if you don't want to use the sauce, you can always just top it with salsa, sour cream, guac, etc. and be done with dinner for the night....but why not take that next step into the realm of deliciousness? 

 Put the Chimiladas back into the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Spoon a "nest" of sauce onto the plate and place the Chimilada over the top and voila!

You can at this point add guacamole (I wish we'd had avocados- I so would have made some!), sour cream, olives, etc...whatever your general Mexican fare toppings may be in your house...and then enjoy. This would go great with a traditional beans and rice combo- or you can have it like we did, with a lovely green salad (with cucumbers and pears! Yummy!)

Jeff actually said that it tasted like I'd put refried beans into the tortillas, I didn't, but that was about the consistency of the meat after the way it had been cooked. It was PERFECT to feed the cravings I was having tonight.

Hugs, deliciousness, and cooking adventures until next time darlings!