Mother's Day Chimichangas

Beaver announced last night that he would cook my dinner for Mother's Day! Oh boy, I thought. No really it was more like OH! Boy?

After scanning for recipes he picked out his favorite meal of chicken chimichangas to cook. After giving me the recipe, I ran to the store today to get the ingredients (are you detecting a pattern here?) and because it was a rainy, cold boring afternoon and Ward was gone TDY (temporary duty in a far off land) the Beaver was ready to begin the big show at 5 o'clock.

Now all chimichangas are really glorified (meaning deep fried) burritos. But the recipe Beaver pulled up did have some excellent tips to keeping the ingredients safely encased while enduring their hot oil bath. So I'm going to share that and the recipe with you.

Grilled Chicken Chimichangas

Flour tortillas (the 8 inch size, warm slightly in the microwave)

2 grilled chicken breasts, thinly sliced

Green chilis (one 4 oz. can of diced)

Grated Monterey jack cheese

Refried beans (warm slightly in microwave)

Vegetable oil for frying

A flour and water paste mixed to make a thick "glue" (this is the excellent tip I was talking about)

Have all the ingredients assembled on a work area near your Fry Daddy (you can also pan fry).

You will want to pile all of your ingredients in the very center of the tortilla and you will do the envelope fold until you have a nice little bundle for frying.

Add a couple of spoonfuls of refried beans first, then 3-4 small pieces of chicken follow by a tablespoon or two of cheese and a teaspoon of green chili.

When you fold, spread some of your flour glue to seal the edges, pressing firmly as you go.

When your oil is hot carefully drop in your chimichanga and fry until golden brown. Remove to drain on a paper towel.

We ate these immediately and they were very good. For a more balanced meal have salsa, guacamole and a green salad. But for his first home cooked meal, the Beaver did a great job!