I have a confession… once upon a time we had lots of cereal eaters and milk drinkers in our house. That is no longer our reality. The problem is, I still buy cereal—and it just sits. And sits. And sits in the pantry. I recently tossed a bunch that was well past its expiration date.
But the struggle isn’t just grocery shopping—it’s cooking, too. I’ve been riding the struggle bus trying to scale down recipes and cook less. Even when I tell myself to make less, I still end up with way too many leftovers.
For a while, we used HelloFresh. That helped since you only get enough for specific meals—and we got the 4-serving box. It’s definitely more expensive than buying the food yourself, but still cheaper than eating out, so I justified it that way.
Lately, I’ve been using Citrus Pear, a freezer meal prep class. It’s cheaper than HelloFresh and does require me to provide the sides, but it helps me avoid takeout on those nights—you know the ones.
Leftovers That Don’t Feel Like Leftovers
The Supreme Commander talks about his Grandpa Jarvis, who was a trail cook on cattle runs. Apparently, he’d start with a pot of beans that turned into something else…and eventually became chili spaghetti. I’ve never made chili spaghetti, but I may need to reconstruct that one.
Back in the day, I remember watching a show on Food Network with this same concept—repurpose and simplify—but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called. Regardless, it’s a brilliant way to cook.
Make a big roast. Cook tons of chicken. Slow-cook a pot of beans. Then repurpose! The possibilities are delicious and endless.
Here are some of my favorites:
- Yum salsa → bean dip, cilantro lime chicken, or cheater enchilada casserole
- Cilantro-lime chicken → soup, chimichangas, or pasta
- Pulled/smoked pork → green chile egg casserole, enchilada casserole, baked potato topping, mac & cheese, bean dip booster
- Taco meat → soup, pasta, nachos (or whatever you dream up)
Chimichangas FTW
Wait a second—I just realized I’ve never shared my chimichanga recipe with you.
Guys. These are so good. And so easy too! They’re the perfect way to clean up the stray bits of this or that you may have lurking in the fridge.
Chez Civilian, the crew often requests cilantro-lime chicken just so we’ll have leftovers to make chimichangas. It’s been a while, but today was THE day. Marah took photos with the DSLR my bestie loaned her—thanks Nettie!—and we thoroughly enjoyed those air-fried chimis.
It was just the three of us today (rare for a Sunday), so I cooked five at a time in the air fryer basket and it worked out perfectly. Normally, I make a bigger batch, crowd them onto a cookie sheet, and throw them in the oven.
But it’s July. In the desert. So unless I’m baking something amazing (I had not one but two pies in the oven while I made dinner today, because of course I did), I try to avoid heating up the whole kitchen.
That said—these chimis? They’re worth it.
Golden, crispy edges with just the right crunch, but not so crunchy that you make a huge mess. We served them with leftover Yum salsa, the last of yesterday’s Grandma Rice (no grandmas were harmed in the making of said rice), and sliced green onions (basically always on hand here). Marah added black olives to hers. I ran out of white tortillas and used some wheat ones, and honestly? The taste was no different. A win in my book!
The leftover leftovers are now safely stowed in the fridge. P.S. these freeze beautifully. if they last long enough for that! You have 2 options, freeze them after they are already cooked or freeze them before brushing with oil and baking. Then when you are ready to eat them, thaw them completely, brush with oil, and bake in the air fryer or oven. They will crisp up perfectly and make you feel hugged from the inside.
The dishwasher is running. And I am impatiently waiting to cut into those pies—one classic coconut custard and one with chocolate chips. Can’t wait! Real food. Real leftovers. Real love. –The Food Civilian
Chimichangas (baked)
Equipment
- 1 air fryer but an oven works too
Ingredients
- 10-12 flour tortillas, ***size
- 2 cups shredded chicken (or beef or pork) give or take
- 1 16 oz can beans, your choice refried or whole
- 1/2-1 cup rice leftover works great
- 1/2-1 cup shredded cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet, add 1TBS of oil, or so and the shredded meat.
- Once mostly heated through, add in the beans and rice.
- Once filling is warmed through, stir in some cheese and stir well to combine.
- Preheat oven to 450. If using air fryer, preheating depends on your appliance.
- If using oven, place metal cookie/baking sheet into oven. You want it hot when you start baking the chimis.
- Wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Scoop 2-3 TBS of filling onto a tortilla.
- Sprinkle a little cheese on top.
- Fold in both left and right sides of tortilla. Hold in place.
- Flip top of tortilla to bottom while squeezing gently to consolidate the filling.
- Flip over, seam side down.
- Repeat until tortillas are all used up.
- Refrigerate any leftover filling. *this makes a great addition to a rice bowl, or a quick burrito. No judgment if you eat it straight up!
- Brush olive or avocado oil all over each burrito.
To airfry:
- Air fry a few at a time (don't overcrowd) at 425-450 for a few minutes. If using a rack, no need to flip. Depends on your appliance. For mine, I don't preheat and I cook about 4 minutes on each side to get the crispiest results.
For oven:
- Using tongs, CAREFULLY place prepared chimichangas on the hot baking sheet, seam side down.
- Bake 4-5 minutes.
- Flip chimichangas and bake until crispy.
For serving:
- Serve with your fave toppings, ie: green onions, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, black olives.