Beef Chimichangas

When the kids were little, it was like they were a captive audience at the dinner table.  And pretty much, the rule is "take it or leave" it at my house.  I don't insist they eat, don't force them to stay at the table.  I have let them all develop their own tastes and opinions about food, but I do like to fix new things and get them to branch out a little.  That's how I found this family favorite, Chimichangas.  It's one of those dishes that I know they will all eat - and it's fairly simple to make.

Gather some garlic, taco sauce, vinegar, salt, oregano and cumin, chopped green chilies, sour cream, and about  2 lbs. either ground beef or turkey.  Make sure you also have burrito size flour tortillas and 1 stick butter.  The whole wheat tortillas are really good!

Brown the meat and drain well.  Tip: I always put cold water in the cooked ground beef, then drain.  More fat comes off, and it cools down faster if you are going to use it for taco salad or are putting it right in the fridge or freezer.  Season after this step so your good stuff doesn't go down the drain, too!

To your cool and drained ground beef add: 1/2 c. taco sauce, 1 small can shopped green chilies, 1/2 c. sour cream,  1 t. of salt, 2 t. each of oregano and cumin, 2 cloves crushed or minced garlic, and 1/4 c. cider vinegar.  Mix well and store in the freezer - I used a zip loc. Don't be turned off by the vinegar - you want it. Also, the color isn't great here, but carry on, it's really good!

Thaw the filling overnight the day before you want to make them.  Pre-heat the oven to 500  (yes, 500 degrees).  Melt the stick of butter and dredge about 6 large flour burrito size tortillas in it.  Put a good sized spoonful onto each tortilla and fold up like an envelope - you don't want the filling to ooze out.  Place seam side down in a glass casserole dish.  Bake 15 minutes.  They will turn out crispy on the outside.  Serve with salad, more sour cream and some salsa.

I can pretty much guarantee my peeps will love them every time.
Let me know if you make them and how you liked them!