Baked Chimichangas

Baked chimichangas? Yes, the technique did come from Pinterest but I made my own filling and have several other in mind. I want to try one with pork. And one with chicken. Yum! Maybe pork and black beans? Back to these: the shell gets nice and crispy just as if you had fried it. 

1 lb. ground meat

1 tbsp. taco seasoning

1 tsp. each garlic powder and cumin

1/2 cup water

1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained

4 tbsp. tomato paste

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 cup refried beans

4 tortillas

1/2 stick butter, melted

Brown hamburger, drain. Stir in taco seasoning, garlic powder, and cumin. Add water and cook until water is gone.

Add tomatoes and green chilies. Again, cook down until liquid is evaporated.

Stir in tomato paste.

Turn off heat and stir in cheese.

Divide filling into four equal portions.

Brush both sides of a tortilla with melted butter.

 Spread 1/4 cup of refried beans down the center of the tortilla.

Top with 1/4 of the meat filling.

Fold one side of tortilla over the filling.

Fold over both sides as directed above.

Roll the tortilla over and tuck ends under.

Bake at 425 degrees until tortilla is crispy. I flipped mine after about ten minutes because the bottoms were browning faster than the tops.

After the flip. Cook another ten minutes.

Both sides came out brown and crispy. Yum!

I served mine with some leftover rice and it was delicious. They reheat well, even in the microwave. The shells would stay crispier if you reheated them in the oven though.