Beef Chimichanga's

Can I just tell you how good these are? Good isn't even the right word. Ridiculous! My son and I ate them for dinner last night and then again for lunch today! I have never made them until now. I have made my own tortillas before but always corn tortillas. So this flour tortilla recipe is new for me as well.   I tried two different flour tortilla recipes and only liked one which I'll share. It's very basic but seems to be perfect!  I have read up on how to make Chimichanga's and have created my own recipe using ingredients that best work for my son and I. You can fry these or bake these. You can have them spicy or not! Very versatile and I did I mention ridiculously good? You are going to be hooked!



Tortilla cooking on the pan

Try to keep the plastic wrap as smooth as possible
Did you know these were made with shortening? I didn't so I used vegetable shortening.




Flour Tortillas - (Adapted from Alton Brown and have made a few changes to suit my needs)
9 ounces all-purpose flour, plus 1/4 cup for kneading and rolling
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup lard
1/2 cup cool water


 Combine 9 ounces flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 2 to 3 times.
Add the lard to the flour mixture in 4 to 5 chunks and pulse 10 to 15 times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With the processor running, add the water in a steady stream just until a ball of dough begins to form, approximately 30 seconds. (I used a fork and mixed it through and worked just as good.)
Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of flour on a clean surface. Remove the dough from the bowl of the processor and knead until well incorporated and less sticky. Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Evenly divide the dough into 6 pieces and form them into round balls. Cover the inside of your Tortilla press with plastic wrap. Place one ball at a time in between and press firmly until desired thickness. You want them as thin as possible. If you don't have a Tortilla press; roll each ball into 7-inch rounds with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface. Keep all of the dough balls covered with a tea towel.
Heat a nonstick pan
Put the tortillas, 1 at a time, onto the pan and cook until light golden, about 4 minutes per side. Can be held for up to 2 hours, at room temperature, wrapped in a barely damp tea towel. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Microwave for 1 minute in the damp tea towel to reheat.







Ground Beef Chimichangas


1 1/2 pounds ground beef
salt/pepper to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons chile powder
1/2 spanish onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 can Goya tomato sauce
1 cup Mexican cheese blend
You can add hot peppers if desired.


Garnish: green onion, chopped, tomatoes, chopped, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, lettuce, cilantro  and or cheese.
Preheat oven to 350
In a hot large skillet heat olive oil. Add in garlic, onion and pepper and saute until translucent. Add in ground beef, salt, pepper, cumin and chile powder. Cook through breaking the meat up as you would to make a taco. Next pour in the tomato sauce and cilantro. Mix and let simmer until heated through. 
In a large baking dish lay out one tortilla at a time. Spoon in beef mixture (2 heaping tablespoons) at the bottom of the tortilla, sprinkle with cheese;  roll them all the way. (you could  close the ends up so the filling doesn't leak, optional) Repeat for remaining tortillas. This recipe makes about 12.
Bake in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until tortillas start to firm up


For the Rice. 
1 cup rice
2 cups water
Adobo to taste
1 packet of  "Sazon con culantro Y Achiote (coriander & Annatto) If you don't have this then 1 regular packet of Sazon will work.


In a saucepan add the rice water and sazon and cook as directed. Sprinkle Adobo on when finished and mix through for more flavor.