Sunday, February 27, 2011

Baked Chicken Taquitos




These were a huge hit! I made these when Larry's brother was in town, and the two older boys absolutely devoured the chicken taquitos. Christian and Andrew weren't as impressed with the chicken ones, but I made some with leftover taco meat and some grated cheddar cheese mixed in, then filled and baked the same way the recipe calls for, and the little boys loved them! Seriously, I think Christian ate about 5 of them himself!



Baked Chicken Taquitos
-slightly adapted from Our Best Bites
1/3 cup (3 oz.) cream cheese
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tb fresh lime juice (1/2 lime)
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp granulated garlic(I didn't have granulated garlic so I just used about1-2 cloves, minced)
3 Tb chopped cilantro
2 Tb sliced green onions
2 cups shredded chicken
1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese(*the recipe actually calls for 1 cup of pepper jack, but in an effort to make it a little less spicy for the kids I used half pepper jack and half cheddar)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
small corn tortillas
cooking spray
olive oil
kosher salt
Soften cream cheese in microwave for 20-30 seconds. Stir in green salsa, lime juice and spices until well mixed then add cilantro and green onions. Stir in shredded chicken and pepper jack cheese and combine well. **this can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line cookie sheet with tin foil, lightly sprayed with cooking oil. Working with 3-4 tortillas at a time, briefly heat in microwave so they are more malleable and easier to work with. (Any time you want to heat up flour tortillas, it's a good idea to place a damp paper towel draped over a small stack of them in the microwave. If I have more than 5, I will place a damp paper towel in the middle of the stack as well.) Spoon 2-3 Tb of mixture in a row across the bottom third of tortilla, keeping 1/2 inch away from edge. This makes it possible to roll it up very tightly. Place taquitos seam side down on cookie sheet, making sure they are not touching. Lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and edges start to turn golden brown.
These are good dipped in more of the green salsa and/or sour cream.