oven baked chimichanga

so it's the day after 4th of july and i fully intended on posting about my fabulous 4th of july on the lake.. i even made oven baked chicken tenders and macaroni salad with sundried tomatoes and peppers.. it was planned down to the tee.... then we got up at 6:00 and it was dark and gloomy outside.. *sigh* i still wanted to go so pete and i took a drive down by the lake to scope things out.. we got out of the truck and i had to *sigh* and concede it was to windy to go.. (pete said i threw a 2 year old fit..) so we went home and sat in the garage all afternoon.. we did projects and watched movies all day.. we ended up having a very nice quiet day.. jake and sam came over so i made burgers and grilled salmon.. we lit fireworks then went down to the park and watched the fireworks show.. it was all in all a really good day..and luckily for us we didn't go the lake.. 9 boats capsized and sunk, people got stranded and had to camp out and there where over 40 rescues made by fish and game.. pretty scary stuff.. you can read about it here... they are expecting 1/2 a million people over the next 10 days to go through lake mead.. that's crazy!!!

here is the kicker to my fourth of july.. i didn't take a single photo.. not one.. not one of the food i made.. not one of jake and sam lighting off fireworks.. not one of the dogs wrestling.. not one of the park when the sprinklers went off and the kids in the neighborhood where all running in and out of them while the fireworks burst above us.. not a single photo.. strange day i tell ya...

 now on to today's recipe.. i love the word chimichanga (i also love to eat them.. seriously who wouldn't it's a fried flour tortilla).. i really love the scene in the movie meet the fockers where dustin hoffman and his wife, barbara streisand leave a message on their outgoing message on how wants to eat a chimichanga.. what's funny is you have to visualize dustin hoffman and the fact he pronounces it wrong.. he says chimichaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanga.. (long a)

[the Fockers' outgoing message]
Bernie Focker: Hello, you've reached the Fockers. We're not around, so leave us a message. Goodbye. Roz, how the hell do you shut this thing off?
Roz Focker: I have no idea. Just press a button.
Bernie Focker: All right, I'm pretty sure it's off. Honey, you want a chimichanga?
Roz Focker: I thought they give you gas.
Bernie Focker: A little bit, but it's worth it.
Roz Focker: Yeah, worth it for you, but I'm the one that gets the fumes.
Bernie Focker: Honey, I'm in the mood for a chimichanga!
Roz Focker: So make a chimichang...
[beep]

anytime i make or order a chimichaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanga i remember that part of the movie and have to giggle..  unfortunately like everything else in life chimichanga's have become something i rarely order and haven't made in years.. because of the whole frying businesses.. yeah whoever determined fried food was bad for us i would like to kick them in the shin!! so the other night i was craving a chimichaaanga and decided i could bake them and boy did they come out good!! you really don't miss the "fry" taste that much at all!!



oven baked chimichanga

prep time: 15 minutes
cooking time: 1 hour
serving: 4

ingredients:

2 lbs. ground turkey (beeg if you prefer)
1 small jar of chunky pace picante salsa
1 bag of shredded mexican cheese
8 medium flour tortillas (i used life balance low fat whole grain tortillas)
pico de gallo (recipe below)
pico pica hot sauce (my fav)
light sour cream for garnish (if desired)
chopped cilantro for garnish

pre heat oven to 375 degrees (f).. in a medium pan over medium heat cook turkey meat until brown and crumbly.. add salsa and reduce to simmer for about a 1/2 hour.. while it's simmering away make your pico de gallo... then spray a lined baking sheet with pam... heat your tortillas in the microwave for 20 seconds just to make them easier to work with.. take a spoonful or two of taco meat and put down the center of the tortilla.. sprinkling of cheese.. roll up and lay seem side on your baking sheet.. repeat until meat mixture is gone.. give another spray of pam on the chimi's themselves and bake for about 25-30 minutes (until a light crispy brown)..turn over about half way through.. remove from baking sheet... add a dollop of sour cream sour cream, pico de gallo, pico pica hot sauce and cilantro then serve immediately..

pico de gallo

ingredients:

1 tomatillo, peeled and diced

1 red tomatoes, diced

1 small purple onion, diced

1 small bunch cilanro, chopped

1 cloves of garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, diced (leave the seeds in for more heat)

zest of 1 lime

juice of 1 lime

splash of olive oil

salt to taste

combine everything and put in fridge for at least an hour before using.. :)