Chimmy Chimmy Chimichangas

I LOVE Mexican Food. My sister LOVE Mexican food. When we lived together we would go to La Fuentes for Margaritas and to gorge ourselves on greasy tasty Mexican deliciousness. So when I decided to make this life style change I wanted to find Mexican Dishes that we could still eat but were a little bit better for us and kinder to our bodies. So when I found this recipe in my Weight watchers cook book I was like SCORE!!!!

Easy Chimichangas

PF 1/2 pound of lean ground beef (5% fat or less)

PF  1 Onion, finely chopped

       1 garlic cloved, minced

       2 teaspoons chill powder

       1 teaspoon dried oregano

PF  1 (8-ounce) can no-salt added tomato sauce

       1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat pepper Jack cheese

       4 (8-inch) whole wheat flour tortillas, warmed

(PF stands for Power Food)

Now, I replaced the pepper Jack cheese with Weight Watchers Four Cheese blend because I don't like pepper jack cheese. I also added sour cream and sprinkled some cheese on top when they were done. You can do that if you want, I also was sad that I didn't have any salsa to eat with them because that would have been pretty dope too. 

1. Light spray nonstick baking sheet with nonstick spray and set aside. (This will be important come step 3)

2. a To make the filling, spray medium nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Then added the beef, onion, garlic, chilli powder, and oregano, cook, breaking beef apart with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 6 minutes.

So I forgot to take a picture of all the ingredients before I started cooking them, and I would like to blame that on Tyra not being here. But what I did to prepare was just get everything on my cutting board after i chopped up the onions and rant them threw my food processor to get them finely chopped. I also cheated and used already minced garlic. Once it was all ready I threw it in the pan with the ground beef and spices and it looked like this

2b. Stir in tomato sauce and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer until flavors are blended and mixture is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remover skillet from heat and stir in cheese. 

So. I really need to learn to do better with taking pictures. Cause I am missing the pictures where it looks thick and when I stirred in the cheese AND what they look like before you roll them up. But here is a example of what I did after they filling thickened up.

3. Spoon about 1/2 cup of filling down center of each tortilla. Fold in sides and roll up to enclose filing. Place the chimichangas, seams side down, on prepared baking sheet. Light spray tops with nonstick spray, Bake until crips and golden, about 20 minutes @350 degrees.

This is how they looked when the went into the oven. This what they looked like when they were done.

So i paired it with some corn because I know my sister likes corn. If I were to do it again I would make some mexican rice and maybe some refried beans. So the best part of this is that this meal with the corn was only 9 points. 7 for the chimichanga and 2 for 2/3 of corn. Adding the fat free sour cream and extra cheese made it a grand total of 11 points for the whole meal. Not bad for a filling dinner :)

I think the best thing about cooking and trying new things is that I get ideas on how to make other meal, such as tacos taste just the same without having to use a lot of salt (because we all know how much sodium is in taco seasoning) and introducing my stomach to new and exciting flavors.

Next time join me for Santa Fe Chicken, which my friend Carolyn suggested I make. I am very excited about my very first crock pot entry :)