Where’s my chimichanga?
Since I grew up in Texas, I’m a big fan of TexMex food. But finding good TexMex or Mexican food around Frankfurt is next to impossible. We went to a “Mexican” restaurant several years ago and ordered fajitas. What came out was a few strips of beef, carrot slices, broccoli and I seem to recall a few stewed tomatoes as well. I have no clue what Mexican restaurant they ever went to that prepared fajitas with carrots and broccoli, but I was disturbed to say the least…and we never went back there.
In my quest for keeping dinner interesting, I came across a recipe for ground beef chimichangas and thought, “Have I ever even eaten a chimichanga?” I’m pretty sure I must have when I was younger but I can’t recall a specific time. But I did know that they sounded awesome and since Gaylord’s dad is always eating them in Meet the Fockers, that means they must be good!
The following chimichanga recipe is baked instead of fried which not only makes it healthier but also a bit easier in my opinion. I hate the grease popping all over the kitchen and burning yourself with it. When using the oven to firm up your chimichangas, you only need about 10 minutes time…and if you make the filling ahead of time, you have a very simple final step to complete to actually get dinner on the table. I’m sure you can even freeze the filling (perhaps without the cheese) for future nights and you’ll have a super quick and easy dinner ready to thaw.
Don’t forget to remove the toothpicks before you serve these…and if you’re worried that the chimichanga will fall apart–don’t be. When baked or fried properly, they become nice, crispy little pockets of goodness. Although 1/4 cup of filling seems a bit small, you will be pretty surprised at how filling these are. We used 1/3 cup the first night and could barely finish 2 chimichangas each. The second night with only 1/4 cup filling, they were perfect.
I will, without a doubt, be making these chimichangas OFTEN because both Stefan and I loved them. Mackenzie was not too sure about them but she’s been cutting teeth and working on her walking skills, so her interest in new foods is not that high right now. But because there are no chilies in the main ingredients, this is a very kid friendly recipe that can also be spiced up quite a bit at the end if you prefer. You could even throw in some hot sauce or chilies as you are making the pockets but make sure you remember which are which so your kids don’t get a big surprise!
The interesting thing about eating a chimichanga, is that the toppings you put on it at the end can make all the difference. When I decided to make these, I even went out of my way to make homemade picante since you can’t buy real picante or salsa here in Germany. (See above reference about fajitas if you’d like to imagine what salsa is like here.) I couldn’t decide whether I liked the chimichanga best with just sour cream and cheese, or with salsa added to the first two…or all three of those plus shredded lettuce. I guess I’ll just have to make them again keep trying all the options until I decide on a favorite. Or maybe mixing it up each time is part of the fun.
What do you put on your chimichanga?
Baked Beef Chimichangas
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 1/2 cups Cheddar, Mexican blend or other favorite cheese
- 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
- 1/2 cup picante sauce
- 12 (8-inch) flour tortillas
- Toppings: salsa, sour cream, shredded lettuce, hot sauce, jalapeños, cheese, guacamole
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (210°C).
- Cook beef, onion and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink and stirring until beef crumbles. Remove from heat and drain if needed.
- Stir cheese, beans and picante sauce into beef mixture.
- Using a measuring spoon, place 1/4 cup beef mixture in the center of each tortilla. Fold opposite sides of tortillas over filling, forming rectangles or squares. Secure with wooden toothpicks.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes then turn and bake another 5 minutes.
- Remove toothpicks and serve immediately with favorite toppings.
6 Responses to “Where’s my chimichanga?”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- Top Ten Ground Beef Recipes | No Ordinary Homestead - [...] Oven-baked chimichangas — Easy, awesome, cheap to make and also convenient to freeze. [...]
Tiffany is an American who has been living in Germany with her husband since 2001. The two are self-proclaimed "Self-Reliant Yuppies" who are in their early-30's and bought an 1830's farmhouse several years ago, which they have been turning into a more sustainable and green dream house. Two cats, a Newfie and their 2 year old daughter enjoy the adventure with them. Tiffany enjoys cooking, rock climbing, lux-camping trying to turn her black thumbs green and taking road trips. Visit the 
Yummmm! I am definitely making these! Besides, it’s just so fun to say CHIMICHANGA!
I seriously miss decent Mexican or TexMex food here. I usually prefer to make my own salsa, too. What do you do about flour tortillas? Are the store-bought ones decent? I’m considering making them by hand, and I know I can get good flour at the Asia/Latino food stand in Kleinmarkthalle.
.-= Jen´s last blog ..First Day of School =-.
Hey Jen,
We get our tortillas from Metro and they are comparable to those in the US. I usually just buy a couple huge packages of them at once so I don’t have to go back there often…way too many other temptations in that place. It’s like Costco but it unfortunately lacks the bargain prices. You need a membership to get int, though. We’ve also seriously considered making our own. Making a press seems to be a pretty simple operation. Guess we just have to bite the bullet one day and try it. I’m sure they probably will taste a whole lot better than what we get here. I’ve also seen tortillas at Lidl but they’re thicker than a typical tortilla–great for wraps. Small tortillas are non-existent though.
Also growing up in Texas, I LOVE Texmex! I miss Texmex and it is the first thing that I eat when I go back…YUM! I have been looking for an easy baked chimichanga recipe for a while, so I will definitely be trying this one! I too made the mistake of going to a “Mexican” restaurant here…how they can call it Mexican, I will never know. My friends (all Germans) loved it, so I figured, what the hey, let’s give it at least a chance. Nope, shouldn’t have done that. In the Marg, they used the zest of the lime instead of the juice, so it was SO bitter. I ordered tacos since I thought, “Hey, how can you mess up a taco?” Well, let me tell you. A)you make it like an egg roll…B) put carrots and corn in it (which makes me then ask, why is everything with corn in it automatically “Mexican”?)…and C)serve it with a funky, weird, awful version of “salsa” (think creamy garlic sauce). Yeah…not so much. I’ll cook it myself and NEVER go to a “Mexican” restaurant here again, thank you very much! Oh, and have you heard of a site called Mex-Al? (http://www.mex-al.de/) They’re an online Mexican specialty store…I have had a couple of friends use it and they love it. I’ve got an Army hook up, so I haven’t had to use it yet. You should check it out…
.-= Jentry´s last blog ..My big furry baby =-.
Hi Jentry!
There’s nothing like good TexMex is there? It’s funny but I probably eat more of it here now cooking at home than I even did living in Texas. You just appreciate it more when you know you can’t have it every day.
Sounds like you’ve also had quite some interesting experiences with “Mexican” food here already. We actually did find a place in Düsseldorf once that had awesome margaritas and pretty good food to…I have no idea what they were called anymore, though. There actually used to be a Chi-Chi’s in Hanau which was fantastic…just like the ones back home. Unfortunately they either made too much money and closed up shop or just couldn’t survive when the base closed. Almost cried when I heard they were no longer in business.Thanks for the website suggestion. They really have EVERYTHING there…and the prices aren’t too bad either. I will have to remember them next time I’m searching for something like tomatillos. And I am officially completely jealous that you have a commissary connection. We’ve had several over the years but none in the last 4 or 5. They closed most of the bases here so there’s a lot fewer Americans around. A visit to the commissary is like your own mini-shopping spree. We always had to hold ourselves back a little or we’d try to buy out the store.I went to a Chi-chi’s once in Paris…I know…what the hell was I thinking right? I’d been in Europe on a class trip for about a month and just had to.
My army friends say that there is a good mexican restaurant near here that is actually run by a Mexican and a Texan…so it better be good! Oh, and that other “Mexican” restaurant I was at, I just found out it is run by a dude from Croatia…odd…very, very odd.
I try not to buy out the commissary when I am there, but I usually buy them out of their green chilies! Those things can go in anything!
There is supposed to be an awesome burrito and taco place in Berlin run by a Mexican & Texan…but I don’t know if I’ll ever make it there to determine if that’s true. As for the Mexican restaurant run by a Croatian…that is just strange. And really rather sad since they make awesome food usually. The tennis club in Bavaria where Stefan’s parents are members has a restaurant run by a guy from Croatia. Some of the best food in town. Too bad that’s about a 4 hour drive from us!
Have you ever noticed how jarred jalapeños here just aren’t as hot? Or have you been lucky enough to never have to buy one of those expensive little jars yet? We grow a lot of our own jalapeños and other chilies each year because what they charge for them here in Germany (especially fresh ones) is just criminal!