Chicken & Cheese Baked Taquitos

 Taquitos are one of Hazel's favorite meals but I continuously struggle to master them and make them crunchy enough while still baking vs. frying. Last night, I finally found a method that works for us!  We like chicken & cheese taquitos and also plain cheese taquitos.  I think we'd probably like lots of other fillings, but these are the easiest to make! I made 20 taquitos and this was sufficient for our family of 5. I used the method from this recipe but a different filling.

Ingredients:

3 Cups cooked shredded chicken

2 T Olive Oil

1 T garlic powder (or to taste)

1 T salt

2 Cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

20 small corn tortillas

Cooking Spray

Salsa, guac, sour cream for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 large baking trays with foil and generously spray with cooking spray.  Place tortillas on the trays, only slightly overlapping if need and spray with more cooking spray. Bake for 4 minutes to make them soft and pliable. 

2. Meanwhile, toss chicken with garlic powder, salt and olive oil until the mixture is a little bit wet and well seasoned.  Feel free to add other seasonings that your family enjoys.

3. When the tortillas are ready, flip them over into a stack so the sprayed side is facing out.  Re-spray the cookie sheets if they look dry.  Put 2T of chicken and cheese in each tortilla. we also made some just cheese. Roll the tortillas up and place seam side down on the prepared tray. 

4. Spray the tortilla tops with cooking spray and sprinkle on a little bit of salt, if you like. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn taquitos to crisp the other side and add more salt on top if needed.  Bake an additional 10 minutes.  Serve with salsa or guac or sour cream!

Flat Iron Steak Tacos

Everyday Food is my favorite cooking magazine. I also get Cooking Light, but I am more likely to find recipes in EF. The thing that sort of annoys me a little bit about the magazine is that every single thing in it is also on Martha Stewart's site. That's good for you I guess, because that means you too can make all my delicious meals for free!

Last Sunday I decided that it was time for cooking week. On Monday I made the tacos. Not being good with using leftovers, I used the leftover steak once and will probably use it again for sandwiches.

Here's the thing though, I didn't exactly follow the recipe. Recently, Joey hasn't been so fond of cumin so I omitted it which as a result omitted any special seasoning from the tacos, and they were actually minorly flavorless despite the mass of Lawrys Seasoning Salt I poured on the meat before broiling it.

I also did not heat the tacos over the low burner flame--I just put them in the microwave between two wet paper towels. I don't like when you make a couple of tortillas and then they end up all being cold by the end.

We served the tacos with beans to round out the meal--and coleslaw which you are supposed to put on the tacos. I was no good at shredding the cabbage even though I read the directions in my cookbook.

I recommend the recipe even still. The steak was a perfect medium rare after I broiled it for two times the amount recommended. The slaw added a satisfying crunch, the cojita cheese was a perfect flavor booster and a little more salsa would have rounded it out perfectly.

Recipe here.

Mexican Pita Appetizer

They may call it an appetizer, but, it was my dinner tonight. The only good thing about Jake missing dinner is that I can make something for myself that he wouldn't consider a dinner! One day last week we had Gyros & I noticed a recipe on the back of the Kronos Pita container that looked simple & good. I make a small adjustment to the recipe & added in some chicken. If I didn't already know that the dough was a pita, I wouldn't have been able to tell. It got crispy in the right places & was very tasty. I would definitely make this again. Next time maybe I will do a BBQ chicken pita/pizza! Oh... & I used my previous salsa post for my salsa.

Click to enlarge:

Simple Chicken Flautas

We are huge Mexican fans. I usually like to make something Mexican for dinner Friday nights as a weekend "kick-off". I always order Chicken Flautas when we are out for Mexican, however, never tried making at home. I decided to give it a try & was happy with the results.

Simple Chicken Flautas

1/2 whole chicken shredded

1 can chicken broth

Salsa

vegetable oil

1 cup Monetary Jack Cheese (shredded)

1 cup Cheddar Cheese (shredded)

24 Corn Tortillas

I like to cook my chicken in a crock pot with a can of chicken broth, however, you could boil if you prefer. Another easy solution is to buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken instead. I usually have a chicken already in the freezer & at 99 cents a lb...you can't beat that. It takes about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours to cook in the crock pot.

Once chicken is falling off the bones, shred. I only used 1/2 the chicken and that make plenty. I used the rest of my shredded chicken in a casserole the following week.

Mix chicken with salsa (I used 2 cups of my homemade salsa). To soften tortillas place each one in frying pan, on medium heat, with small amount of vegetable oil. 5-10 seconds on each side.

Scoop about 1 tablespoon of chicken mixture in center of tortilla & sprinkle cheese on top. Roll tightly and place on baking sheet (seam side down). Sprinkle a little more cheese on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes.

Serve warm!

Salsa

This is my favorite salsa. I am not a tomato fan, so, I don't like big chunks in my salsa. I got this recipe from Consuela, the cook in the Bistro where I used to work. Everyone was always so excited when it was "Tostados" day & I always got extra Salsa. A couple of things that I love about this recipe a) it is such a good one to cook with (I have used when I make Tostados & Flutes) b) it is only 5 ingredients c) very simple to make.

*This recipe you have to adjust to your likeness of the ingredients. When Consuela gave me this recipe it wasn't exact measurements.

Recipe:

5 Roma Tomatoes
1-2 Jalapeno Peppers (if you don't like spicy, I would only go with one)
1/2 white onion (chopped)
1/2 cup - 1 cup cilantro (you can adjust amount to your likeness)
Salt to taste


Place tomatoes & peppers in non stick skillet (medium heat). The only thing I do to prepare them is wash & cut the stems off the jalapenos.
Goal here is to get them soft. Keep flipping them every couple of minutes. They will blacken & that is absolutely fine. (Consuela said that you can also do this on the grill, I have never tried)

Once they are soft place all ingredients in blender (chopped onion, cilantro, tomatoes, jalepeno). Blend.

Here is your end result. Salt to taste & enjoy!