Chicken Chimichangas with Sauce

OVEN TEMP:  400 º F          PREP TIME:  40 m          COOK TIME:  60 m          SERVING SIZE:  3-4

Ingredients: 

• 1-1.5 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts **you can use a rotisserie chicken if you wish
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp Homemade Taco Seasoning per chicken breast
• Olive oil
• 1/4 c butter (4 tbsp or 1/2 stick)
• 1/4 c flour
• 2 c heated chicken stock (2 c hot water + 2 chicken bullion cubes)
• 8 oz sour cream
• 4 oz can chopped green chiles, drained
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1+/- tsp hot sauce *optional
• 12 small corn tortillas
• 8 oz shredded Mexican cheese
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 c shredded lettuce
• 1/2 c Vegetable oil

(Almost) All of the ingredients used

Materials:

• 2-3 skillets
• 1 cookie sheet
• 1 wire rack
• Medium mixing bowl
• 9″ x 13″ baking dish
• Measuring cup(s)
• Measuring spoon(s)
• Whisk – plastic if using a nonstick skillet
• Tongs
• Wooden spoon
• Large cutting knife
• Can opener
• Meat thermometer
• Aluminum foil

The very first thing I would do, just to make everything easier (and I would do this every time I cook anything), measure out all your ingredients beforehand so you can just grab and go! Otherwise dinner takes forever and you have a situation on your hands! Once you have everything measured out, you are ready to start! 

Preheat your oven to 400 º F

Line a medium sized cookie sheet with aluminum foil (be careful not to poke holes in it!) and place a wire rack on it.

This is what your cookie sheet should look like

Next you need to prep your chicken to be cooked. *If you have a rotisserie chicken you can skip the next couple steps and just shred your chicken and start your sauce. 

Open your package of chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. 

Pour a small amount of olive oil onto each chicken breast and rub it in all over and in every area you can find. You want it to be damp but not wet.

Then take 1/4-1/2 tsp (per chicken breast) of Homemade Taco Seasoning and do the same thing. Rub it in all over in every area you can find.  You can use more if you want to, or you can add a little more later after you shred it. 

This is what your chicken breasts should look like

Put the chicken in the oven on the middle rack.

Bake at 400 º F for 40-50 minutes. *you must make sure your chicken is cooked properly to avoid getting sick! The internal temperature of your chicken should be 165 º F! 

Don’t make people sick! Make sure your chicken is cooked properly!

While your chicken is cooking, it’s time to get started on the sauce! 

Place 2 chicken bullion cubes into 2 c of hot water. It needs to be hot to melt the cubes and stir to accelerate the process. *if you have chicken stock you can just use 2 c of that and skip this step

The cubes start to dissolve immediately in hot water, but stirring really helps

Melt the butter in a large skillet on medium-low heat.

Once the butter is melted add the flour and cook for 3-5 minutes *see image below

Once that is done, start adding the chicken stock you made 1/3 c at a time. 

Whisk after each addition, to try and get all the lumps out

This is what it should look like when you are cooking the butter and the flour

Continue to add the broth.

Remember to whisk and stir constantly.

After a couple of additions, this is what your sauce will look like

*anything metal on a nonstick skillet will scratch it. To ensure keeping your skillets in nice shape, use plastic and wooden utensils

**This sauce is supposed to be smooth and creamy so you really want to do everything you can to get all the lumps out! 

Once you have added all of the broth, add sour cream, green chiles, cayenne pepper, and hot sauce.

Once you have added all of the broth, you need to add the other ingredients

*if you want a super smooth sauce you can put these ingredients in a blender 

Mix thoroughly.

Keep on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.

This is what your sauce should look like when it is finished

Now you are going to want to saute the onion you diced earlier. (If you didn’t dice it yet, now would be a good time to do it)

 I used the smallest skillet I own for this. 

This is right after I put the onions in, I forgot an after picture!

Pour just a small amount of olive oil into the skillet on medium heat

Add the onions and saute them. When they are finished, the onions should be slightly transparent and browned. 

Now while you are waiting for the onions to finish, you can start shredding your chicken. (It should be done by now.)

Make sure you keep an eye on the onions and stir occasionally. It does not take long for them to finish

Here is what your chicken should look like when it is done

You really don’t want to wait too long to shred the chicken. Its much easier to shred it while its hot! 

Shredded chicken!

I just used 2 forks to shred my chicken. Use one fork to hold and the other to rip the meat apart!

It takes a couple minutes and it makes you wonder why you did’t just get a rotisserie chicken!

If you want, you can add some additional taco seasoning once you have shredded all the chicken. 

Once you have finished shredding the chicken, add the lettuce and onions (they should be done by now)

Mix thoroughly, add the cheese and mix again.  

All the fillings mixed together!

Now comes the assembly! Preheat your oven to 250 º F

Corn tortillas need to be cooked before you can use them. Otherwise they will rip. 

They look pretty much the same as when they are not cooked

To cook the tortillas, turn your gas burner on medium and heat each tortilla individually on both sides for 8 seconds.

**Use metal tongs place, pick up, and flip tortillas

I used my cutting board (where I diced my onion) to assemble the chimichangas. 

Try not to put too much inside, otherwise it will be hard to roll

Add chicken mixture to the middle of tortillas

Roll away from you, tucking the ends in and securing the seam with a toothpick

This is what your assembled chimichanga should look like

Once you have finished assembling all of the chimichangas, you need to fry them. 

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet on medium-low heat

Once the oil is heated, fry 2 chimichangas at a time

Let them fry for 3 minutes on each side

Remove from skillet and place in 9″ x 13″ casserole dish

Once the chimichangas are cooled, remove the toothpicks. 

*I only used 4 toothpicks this way 

After adding chimichangas to the casserole dish, I recommend keeping the dish in the oven until the next set is done to keep everything warm. 

When everything is done, all you have to do is add some chimichangas to a plate and smother them in sauce! 

These pictures don’t do this meal justice!

I hope everyone enjoys this recipe! I know my family certainly does!

Thanks for reading!

-Kaydee Reign