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Black Bean & Cream Cheese Chimichangas

December 5, 2014


My coworkers, friends, and a lot of my family all refer to me as a crazy cat lady. To which I don’t take offense, but I do have a strong problem with the fact that loving your cats and talking to them in your own home makes you crazy while carting your dog everywhere with you makes you a good dog mom. Major props to the dog lovers for somehow making it socially acceptable, but can we talk about the cat shaming? Not okay! There’s also a general acceptance when people say they hate cats but if someone says they hate dogs, you chase them out of your home, fire them at the office, or generally hide children behind you so they don’t have to be exposed to such a monster. Cats are people pets, too, and I only demand that everyone love them equally.

Black Bean Cream Cheese Chimichangas @hiddenfruitnveg

Why the rant? I have weird word associations and chimichangas happens to remind me cats and dogs. Not crazy, probably. I just always think of the episode of Catdog where they’re fighting some injustice at a Mexican restaurant and every time someone says chimichanga they follow it with “which is a beautiful word”. And that’s true, chimichanga is a beautiful word. Rolls right off the tongue and into my belly.

Black Bean Cream Cheese Chimichangas @hiddenfruitnveg

The problems with most chimichangas are A. they’re loaded up with meat and my local restaurant is a little snippy about subbing in veggies B. they’re typically deep fried. Now, I love me some deep fry on occasion but it really doesn’t love me back. Baking makes it almost just as crispy and preparing it at home means I can stuff it full of whatever I want. The cream cheese combines with the seasonings to make a killer extra cheesy sauce. Please excuse the fact that I’m seemingly unable to photograph the filling prior to going into the chimmy. Oopsies!

Black Bean Cream Cheese Chimichangas @hiddenfruitnveg

Now go snuggle up with your fur/feather/scale baby while you dream about chimichangas (which is a beautiful word). And tell me all about your precious pets in the comments, you know I’m dying to know about them! I’ve yet to meet a pet I don’t think is adorable (yes, I even thing spiders are cute. Let’s not talk about that).

Black Bean Cream Cheese Chimichangas
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 5 chimichangas
 

Ingredients
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped into ½ inch pieces (I used red)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ medium red onion, chopped
  • 15 oz can or 1½ c black beans, rinsed
  • 4 oz low fat cream cheese
  • ¼ c Greek yogurt (I used fat free)
  • 2 tbsp. agave or honey
  • 1 tbsp. ketchup
  • 5 – 6 tbsp. taco seasoning
  • optional: hot sauce or cayenne pepper
  • ¾ c shredded cheddar cheese
  • 5 tortillas (8 inches)

Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a pan over medium heat, sauté the pepper, garlic, and onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Use nonstick spray or a little water to prevent sticking.
  3. Slightly mash the black beans, leaving about ⅔ of the beans whole. Add the beans, cream cheese, and yogurt to the pan. Stir occasionally, breaking up the cream cheese until it’s melted.
  4. Stir in the agave, ketchup, and taco seasoning, adjusting to taste. If desired, add hot sauce or cayenne pepper to make it spicy (you can add this to individual chimmies before rolling if you don’t want all to be spicy).
  5. Turn off heat and stir in the cheese.
  6. Microwave your tortillas until they’re pliable. Add about ½ c of the filling to each tortilla and roll like a burrito (see note) and place seem side down on a baking sheet. Spritz each chimmy liberally with nonstick spray.
  7. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. A small amount of filling may come out. Switch your oven to broil until the tops are lightly browned.
  8. Serve hot with additional Greek yogurt or sour cream, salsa, and/or slices of avocado.

Notes
For tips on rolling, see this wikiHow (But skip the part about foil).
You can freeze these before or after baking. To freeze before baking, wrap each individually and let thaw for 30 minutes at room temp before baking. If you freeze after baking, wrap each individually. I recommend thawing completely before baking so you don’t overcook the tortilla.
Nutritional estimate uses a high fiber, lower calorie tortilla

Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 Calories: 400 Fat: 10 Carbohydrates: 66 Fiber: 20 Protein: 25

 

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10 Comments
    Isadora @ she likes food Dec 07, 2014

    I totally 100% agree! It seems like people are totally ok to say that they hate cats but when I say that I hate dogs (which I do!) I’m a horrible person! Dogs are smelly and loud and obnoxious and cats are sweet and not smelly and awesome! Dogs drool, cats rule! End of story! Chimmichangas also rule and I want these right now!

    Liz @ I Heart Vegetables Dec 05, 2014

    That’s such a good point about the cat/dog difference. I honestly never thought about it! I say, love on those kitties all you like 🙂

    Those chimmichangas look AWESOME! I’ve never tried putting in cream cheese. I’ll definitely add this to my list of foods to make!

    cheri Dec 05, 2014

    Hi Kelly, love chimmichangas, especially this combination. Also I’m a big animal person, love cats and dogs!

    Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health Dec 05, 2014

    I can see why you get frustrated about the cat comments. They don’t get as much love as dogs but I think it’s because most people don’t understand them. They’re more complex than dogs.

    Would you believe I’ve never had a chimichanga?! I need to change that because these look delicious! Give me all the Mexicab food!!!

      Kelly Dec 05, 2014

      WHAAAA?! You’ve never had a chimichanga? Definitely change that — they’re just burritos extra crispy cousins and everyone already knows burritos are tasty!

    Becky @ Olives n Wine Dec 05, 2014

    One – Spiders are not cute. Two – I’ve made it a goal to make more veggie meals each week. This is getting made next week! Three – Mitchell is pretty cute… until he’s bad. Then he loses all cuteness, kinda 😉

      Kelly Dec 05, 2014

      Just look at this spider and tell me it doesn’t melt your heart. Maybe it’s the ecologist in me that just can’t say no to a face like that! And naughty puppies are always the cutest ones when I’m not the one having to deal with their bad behavior 😀 Let me know how you like the chimmies!