Sunday nights are really fun in this house in the Spring: Game of Thrones is on and our favorite couple comes over to hang out with us, eat dinner, and watch the show. Clay has known Aaron since they were just kiddos and his wife Katie and I hit it off without missing a beat four years ago. Its become a weekly occurrence this spring that they come over every Sunday afternoon and hang through dinner and Game of Thrones.
Well this week I made the mistake of asking them what they felt like eating for dinner: I got "Chicken Fajitas" and "that Shrimp Garlic Cream Pasta stuff" - couldn't be farther apart on the spectrum of food.
Well I spent some time thinking on those foods and what I came up with was these chicken and veggie burritos, pan-fried to crispy and then covered in a creamy Poblano sauce and Monterrey Jack Cheese. I served them with sliced avocado and a Mexican rice-quinoa pilaf. Based on the feedback - the diners were pleased. Since then, these have become an absolute favorite for Chanel at lunch time (our boy's lovingly call her Coco).
Townes even liked it so much that I used my leftover chicken the next morning to make breakfast tacos for him (more on that later).
The chicken mix was inspired by an enchilada plate that I love to get at our local Tex-Mex place. Maudie's has the Kimberly's favorite enchiladas which are vegetarian, filled with mushrooms, carrots and spinach in a queso blanco sauce. I decided to use those same veggies (ran through the food processor to disguise them from the boys) sauteed into the ground chicken for the filling.
I assembled each burrito with filling, topped it with cheese, rolled them up and popped them into the oven to bake while I whipped up the sauce. The sauce was an attempted copycat of Torchy's Poblano Ranch. It didn't quite hit that mark, it ended up more like Chuy's Creamy Jalapeno Sauce - but really you can't go wrong either way.
Coco's Chimichangas
Makes 6 Burritos
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. ground chicken
- 4 oz. baby portabella mushrooms
- 3 medium carrots, shredded
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups spinach
- 1/2 medium white onion
- 4 - 6 cloves of garlic
- 2 tsp. dried basil
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 2 tsp. dried chipotle powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbs. butter
- 1 small can of black beans (14 - 16 oz), drained
- 6 large flour tortillas
- 4 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
- Avocado, sliced (optional)
- Tapatio or other hot sauce (optional)
- Fresh Cilantro (optional)
Give your vegetables (mushrooms, spinach and onion) a rough chop into about 1-inch chunks. Toss these into the bowl of a food processor with the garlic cloves, basil, oregano, chipotle and salt and pepper. Pulse until they are a fine mince,* put into a bowl and set aside.
*I mince my veggies like this when I can because I am feeding a toddler and a man who hates vegetables. When I can "hide" them this way, they can't get missed or picked around. If you are a veggie lover like I am, you can definitely chop them into whatever size you desire and follow the directions all the same - which is pictured above from another time Chanel and I made them for lunch and weren't planning on sharing with any of the veggie-averse in our lives.
Melt the butter in a large sauce-pan over medium-high heat and add the veggie mix. Saute until fragrant and bubbly, just a couple minutes. Add the ground chicken directly to the pot and saute until chicken is cooked through - you will want to break up the chicken with your spoon or spatula as it cooks and mix it into the veggies. I even go so far as to use a potato masher to really get it mixed well and broken into small even bits. Once the chicken mix is cooked through and mixed, stir in the black beans and cook over medium heat until warmed. Remove the pan from the heat, put chicken mix into a paper-towel lined bowl and set aside.
Heat a large frying pan or griddle to medium-high heat, and melt 1 tbs. of butter.
Making an assembly line on your table or counter, line up your bowl of chicken, shredded cheese, sliced avocado, and burrito tortillas. Lay out one tortilla and spoon four large spoonfuls (about 3/4 cup) of filling in a line down the middle of the tortilla. Sprinkle some cheese on top of the filling (however much you like). Using both hands, fold up the side of the tortilla over the ends of the line of filling. While holding those sides down, roll the tortilla up into a burrito. Fold side down, place the sealed burrito onto the hot pan. Repeat with the remaining burritos.
Let the burritos fry until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, using a spatula, gently turn them over to fry the top. While the burritos are cooking, make the Poblano Sauce (below). Remove the burritos from the pan and top with Poblano sauce, a bit more cheese, avocado, cilantro and hot sauce. Serve with Mexican rice.
Poblano Cream Sauce
Makes about 1 cup
Ingredients:
- 1 large poblano pepper
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp. dill
- 2 tsp. celery salt
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- Salt and Pepper
- 1/2 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup of buttermilk (recommended) or half and half
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat, set aside.
Seed and slice the poblano pepper into four slices. Place the four pieces, skin side up, onto the prepared baking sheet, and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, long enough for the skin to blister a bit, but not burn. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before using them.
Chop the roasted peppers into 1-inch chunks. Combine with the garlic cloves in a food processor and pulse until minced. Add the sour cream and spices to the food processor and blend until smooth.
A little at a time, add the buttermilk and blend until desired consistency. Serve immediately.