Our hands-down favorite restaurant in our area is a Mexican place. Everything about it is great: the atmosphere, the service, and, of course, the food. Like many great Mexican places, they bring out homemade chips and salsa right off the bat, which in itself is a treat. The entrees are just as good, with something for every member of the family.
I admit that I have one favorite item on the menu, and it’s one I get every time I go. It’s a chimichanga, filled with steak and topped with cheese and various sautéed vegetables. I don’t experiment much with the menu because that chimi is so good, and we go just infrequently enough that it doesn’t get old.
I wouldn’t mind getting the occasional chimichanga outside of the restaurant. Even knowing that what I get from the grocer won’t compare, I still like the idea of trying some from time to time. That’s why I took notice when I saw Aldi was selling individually wrapped chimis as an everyday buy.
Casa Mamita Beef and Cheese Chimichanga is an Aldi Regular Buy. You can find it in stores all the time, in the store’s frozen section. It currently costs $1.19 for a single 5-ounce chimi, or about 24 cents an ounce.
Aldi also sells a chicken version of the chimi, but they didn’t have any in the store at the time I was there.
Nutritionally, you probably expect this is a processed food high in bad stuff … and you’d be correct. The ingredients list is long, and the chimi boasts 360 calories, 16 grams of fat (21% of your recommended daily value), 5 grams of saturated fat (25% DV), 680 milligrams of sodium (30% DV), and 42 grams of carbs (15% DV). Allergens include milk, soy, and wheat, and the chimi was fried in soybean oil.
Nutrition and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
There are two listed ways to cook the chimichanga: microwave and oven. To cook in the microwave, open one end of the wrapper and microwave on high for 45 seconds. Carefully flip the chimichanga onto the other side and cook on high for an additional 45 seconds or until heated thoroughly. Let stand for one minute before carefully — the instructions on the bag say “CAREFULLY” — removing from the microwave.
To bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the chimichanga from the plastic wrapper. Place the product flap-side down on the nonstick baking sheet in the center of the oven. Bake 20-25 minutes or until heated thoroughly. Carefully — “CAREFULLY” — remove the baking sheet from the oven “with oven mitts.” (In case you didn’t realize that.) Let stand for one minute.
“CAUTION,” the bag adds, as if the lawyers were really paranoid about this one, “product will be hot!”
I used the microwave.
A cooked chimi.
Is it a restaurant quality chimi? Obviously, no. But it is a pretty good heat-and-eat chimi? Yes. Yes, it is. The tortilla is flavorful and soft — the microwave instructions make for a decent texture — and the interior has a nice composition of cheese and beef. Each bite had a nice cheesy, beefy flavor that was maybe a half-step beyond mild. Of course, you can always add your own toppings such as cheese or salsa.
The Verdict:
The Casa Mamita Beef and Cheese Chimichanga exceeded our expectations. The chimi is easy to heat up, with a good texture and better-than-expected taste and texture. It’s not the healthiest food, on account of being processed, but as an occasional chimi to have for lunch this does a good job. The price isn’t bad, either.
