New Tastes...

Homemade Chimichangas & Chocolate Cake!

As it is my triathlon on Sunday, this weekend I have been reduced to finding fun things to do that don't involve staying out late or drinking, which when it comes to me, is a diffucult task! Mo came round last night, so I decided to make us something nice for tea, and after consulting a few cookery books, decided on chimichangas.

I have had them before in a restaurant, and they seem pretty easy to make, so after a quick trip to Aldi for a few ingredients, I got cooking. The good thing about this recipe is that it can be made in advance, so if you know you will be in a rush when you get back from work etc, they are simple to cook quickly yet still appear that effort has gone in.

I decided to make some chicken and some beef ones, so first of all I fried off the meats in separate frying pans, then added equal amounts of mushrooms and peppers to each (onions could also be added at this stage). I split a packet of Old El Paso fajita sauce mix between the two, and added some garlic and salsa as well just to give it a bit more moisture. Then I got a tortilla, put about a spoonful and a half of one type of mixture in the centre, and made them into envelope shaped parcels, folding first the bottom, then the two sides, and finally the top section inwards. 

At this stage they can be left for as long as necessary (folded edges faced downwards to prevent them springing open again!) before shallow frying the same way down in about 4cms of oil (the recipe said palm oil, but I used vegetable and it was fine). I'd recommend microwaving them before frying if you leave them for a while though, as because it only takes 2 minutes maximum, the centres can remain lukewarm unless reheated.

I served them just on their own with guacamole and sour cream to dip them into, as they were quite big and therefore filling, but you could serve them with Mexican style rice or with nachos on the side if desired.

For dessert I made a simple chocolate cake, though substituted the butter for oil and milk as I find it makes the end result a bit more moist. I put white and milk chocolate spread in the middle (it is pretty cheap from Aldi, and is AMAZING!) and topped it with melted chocolate. The perfect accompaniment to a glass of white wine whilst watching a film on a Friday night!