Food for Thought: Chicken Chimis and Easy Empanadas

Tamales

We celebrated our first Cinco de Mayo as a Merit Badge project for Scouts for the Gym Rat. He had to find info on another country and then study some of their traditions and foods. Mexico was an easy choice. So we bought a pinata, stuffed it full of candy and had our first good whack at it. I was surprised at how difficult it was to actually break a cheap pinata, even with a real aluminum bat! We ate tacos and chips and salsa. Over the years we have refined our celebration a bit. Now we make our famous chicken chimis and this year I threw together an easy batch of empanadas too. I’ll give you both of those recipes in a minute.

  When Bossy married Gamer it added a whole new dimension to our "fiesta." Gamer is Hispanic and sometimes we can convince him to make tamales or chile verde. We have also tried other desserts. Last year we made Tres Leches cake, but I was afraid we’d all gain five pounds if we did that again this year. We’ve also tried fried ice cream and sopapillas. But the best thing we’ve discovered since Gamer joined the family is that if you send a Hispanic to the Hispanic food store, you get a much better deal!  And he knows the difference between a cheap grocery store pinata that never breaks and a real pinata with the points that is made to drop candy a little at a time and swing just right to make it fun.

 The other thing he introduced us to was authentic Mexican candy. That’s right, and nearly all of it has hot peppers of one sort or another in it! (Or maybe that’s just the kind he buys because he wants to pull my sweetie’s chain. He hates any kind of food with heat in it. He can’t even eat a spicy chicken sandwich!) So here is our Easy Chicken Chimis recipe. I hope you like it. When the Drama Queen makes it she adds an extra bottle of salsa because she likes it more moist than we do. My sweetie also added some fresh garlic this time and it was extra tasty. Modify to your own tastes. Remember my recipe feeds a small army, so feel free to cut it in half unless you are having a party.

Easy Chicken Chimis

4 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast (chunked)
1 large bell pepper (chopped)
2 jars of salsa (approx. 18 oz.)
2 cups minute rice
2 tbsp chili powder
2 cans of olives (chopped)
cheddar cheese
flour tortillas (the thicker kind so they don’t break)
cooking oil

Cook chicken and pepper in frying pan until chicken is completely cooked. Add salsa, chili powder, olives, and rice. Cook until rice is soft (about 5 minutes).

Roll in warm tortillas with shredded cheddar cheese. You may want to brush on a flour and water paste with your pastry brush to keep them sealed.

Deep fry or pan fry in hot oil until golden brown.

Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and guacamole. You can reheat already fried left overs, but they are slightly soggy.  We prefer to fry them fresh the next day. 

Empanadas
flour tortillas
prepared pie filling (any kind will work)
flour/water paste (optional)
cooking oil
Put your whole package of tortillas in the microwave for one minute to warm them. This makes them easier to roll. Place about ¼ cup of pie filling down the center.

Roll it up, pasting the edge closed with a pastry brush and flour/water paste if desired. Deep fry or pan fry in hot oil.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar or powdered sugar. They are best when topped with vanilla ice cream!