healthy chimichangas!

Mexican food always get the bad rap of being unhealthy -- it's too oily, high in cholesterol, etc, etc. But I love Mexican cuisine and I just couldn't bear not eating my favorite empanadas, tortillas, chimichangas and burritos for "health" reasons! Thank god I stumbled on a copycat recipe of Chi−Chi’s famous healthy Baked Chicken Chimichangas. Nomnomnom! =) You can use ground pork or beef for this recipe but that would defeat the purpose of eating healthy so try to use chicken or turkey or any white meat. Me, I use leftover chicken -- no skin of course!

photo credit: Janet is Hungry

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups chicken, cooked, shredded
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
16 ounces salsa
1/2 teaspoon cumin
pinch of salt
6 − 10 inch flour tortillas
1 cup refried beans
Olive oil (for basting)
Sour Cream
Guacamole

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in chili powder, salsa, and cumin. Stir in shredded chicken. Let cool.
3. Grease rimmed 15 x 10 x 1 baking pan.
4. Working with one tortilla at a time, spoon a heaping tablespoon of beans down center of each tortilla. Top with a scant 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture.
5. Fold up the bottom, top and sides of tortilla; secure with wooden toothpicks if necessary.
6. Place chimichangas in greased baking pan, seam side down. Brush all sides with the oil.
7. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and crisp, turning every 5 minutes.
8. Serve with sour cream and guacamole. This recipe has 8-10 servings.

Obama Family Chili Recipe

This recipe would not be possible if it weren't for Good Morning America! =) So, to their website updaters, thank you for putting this up. I hope you don't mind me sharing this to my readers.. We just adore chili!! ^_^

Obama Family Chili Recipe

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
Several cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey or beef
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground basil
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Several tomatoes, depending on size, chopped
1 can red kidney beans

Procedure:
Saute onions, green pepper and garlic in olive oil until soft.
Add ground meat and brown.
Combine spices together into a mixture, then add to ground meat.
Add red wine vinegar.
Add tomatoes and let simmer, until tomatoes cook down.
Add kidney beans and cook for a few more minutes.
Serve over white or brown rice. Garnish with grated cheddar cheese,onions and sour cream.

Chili Cooking Tips
1. If your chili is too thick, use chicken or beef broth to dilute it. Don't use water!
2. If your chili is too thin, try adding tomato paste in small amounts to thicken it to your desire. If the tomato paste doesn't work, try a small amount of cornstarch or flour. Some people say a tablespoon or two of instant mashed potatoes work to thicken a chili.

Tex Mex Salmon!

Love Mexican food but is now trying to eat healthy? Good news! Today we have a recipe guaranteed to squash your Mexican food cravings but won't make your cholesterol and fat blood levels soar ;-) Presenting to you -- Tex Mex Salmon! Yup, salmon as in fish. That's what make this "Mexican" recipe healthy. Plus the fact we won't be frying anything in oil or lard. But, don't push it and eat as much as you can -- that's still unhealthy! :p Anyway, happy cooking and always, always eat moderately!

Ingredients (6 servings)

1 7 oz. package of Ortega taco chips/shells

2 lbs. salmon fillets in pieces (you can actually use any fish you want)

1/2 cup olive oil (or any healthy oil you want)

Taco sauce (optional)

Instructions

Heat taco shells/chips according to package directions.

In food processor or blender, finely crush shells. Blend in Taco seasoning.

Dip fish in olive oil. Coat with crumbs.

Arrange in shallow baking dish.

Bake in preheated 425 degrees F oven for half hour or until fish flakes easily when macerated with a fork.

Serve with Taco sauce (optional).