Black Bean and Cheese Chimichangas

The husband was watching the Packers game last Sunday, and I decided to make him some hot dinner. Sunday night meals often consists of PB&J or cereal, but the husband had a hard day working in the garage, and I thought he deserved something special.

I would fry him something.

I should mention that the husband loves fried food. I should also mention that I'm afraid of frying food. Shortly after we got hitched, I tried to make taquitos. My first attempt at frying went, shall we say, poorly. It tasted like we were eating little, round sponges of oil. Bleck. Also, with dubious ventilation in our kitchen, it smelled like the state fair in our house for far too long. Not classy.

But despite my fear, I was determined to fry up some grub for the husband. I tweaked a taquito filling recipe I found in Real Simple last month, and went to town. The first two chimichangas didn't turn out quite right. They were...burnt.

Take two, however, was much better. When I presented the chimichangas to the husband, I was a bit nervous. Would they meet the same fate as my taquitos? To my utter delight, the husband had a big smile on his face after tasting my creation. "These are GOOD!" he exclaimed.

From now on I will be known as Erin, the happy housewife who's not afraid to fry.

Black Bean and Cheese Chimichangas
Serves 2-4

15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon lime juice (juice of 1/2 lime)
Salt and pepper
4 flour tortillas
Vegetable oil for frying

In a medium-sized bowl, mash together beans, cheese, chili powder, garlic powder, and lime juice.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Evenly divide bean mixture among tortillas. Roll tortillas up tightly.

Heat 1/2" of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. (Err on the medium side of medium-high.) Test to make sure the oil is hot enough for frying by dropping a small piece of tortilla into the oil. If the oil bubbles immediately and the tortilla rises up to the top, the oil is the right temperature. (If the oil is too cold, you'll end up with a soggy, greasy mess. A la my tacquito situation.)

Gently place the rolled-up tortillas into the oil, seam-side down. Fry for about 2 minutes on each side until the tortillas are crisp and golden.

Set tortillas on a paper-towel lined plate to sop up any extra oil. Serve with salsa and sour cream.