Recipe of The Week: Chicken Chimichangas with Green Sauce

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I LOVE Mexican food!

One of my favorites is a good ol' cheesy, deep-fried Chimichanga...they rock my socks off!

I'm always up for a culinary adventure but really, making chimi's at home has always sounded like a lot of work.  If a recipe is very time consuming, it automatically gets put in the "weekends only" file and based on how busy our weekends are, the recipe may never be used.

Just the other day, I ran across a Chimichanga recipe on Allrecipes.com that looked pretty good, had positive reviews and seemed like something I could modify to make a heck of a lot easier/quicker...which I did! 

I finally made it the other night and it was DELICIOUS!  They also fried up pretty easily and without making a huge, greasy mess--another plus!  The recipe makes a significant amount of filling--we had enough for at least 2 meals.  The first time around, we did just the chicken and cheese--then the second time, we added sauteed onions, peppers and tomatoes to the mixture.  We're pretty sure they were even better the second time around ;-)

For those of you who also appreciate a good Chimichanga (and maybe need a last minute meal for Valentine's Day!), here's my version of the recipe:

Photo Courtesy of Allrecipes.com

Chicken Chimichangas with Green Sauce
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
2-3 pitted green olives (I skipped these)
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 T. fresh lime juice
1" cube of pepperjack cheese
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 (8 oz) package shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 (1 oz) package taco seasoning (I used Mrs. Dash's Fiesta Blend)
3 chicken breasts
8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
Vegetable Oil
Various toppings: guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese, etc

Place chicken breasts in crock pot and add taco seasoning/Mrs. Dash,1 tablespoon of lime juice and 3 tablespoons of water.  Cook on high for 3.5 hours or until chicken is done.  Remove chicken breasts from crock pot and shred.  In a separate bowl, stir together the cream cheese and Monterey Jack cheese until well blended.  Fold in chicken and add several spoonfuls of chicken juice, if you wish.  Pour the cream of chicken soup, Pepperjack cheese, green chiles, olives, jalapeno and remaining 1 tablespoon of lime juice into a saucepan; warm over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. 


Evenly divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas.  Fold each tortilla into a rectangular packet around the filling. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place 2 chimichangas at a time in the oil, seam-side down (this keeps them from coming open), and fry until golden brown.  Remove from oil and drawn on paper towels.  Ladle warm sauce over the chimichanga and add any toppings of your liking.