Baked Chicken Taquitos

Here's another good recipe I found on Pinterest (it originated at savourthesensesblog.com).  These taquitos are more healthy than those you find most places as they are not fried, but baked in the oven.  I like to make as many as I have the chicken filling for and keep them in the refrigerator so my boys can heat them in the microwave when they need a meal on the go!

The original recipe called for 3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded, but I prefer the rotisserie chicken, which you can find at most markets as well as Costco.  I buy one almost every time I go to Costco; once it cools, I take the meat off the bones and put it in a freezer bag in the freezer and keep it in there for recipes like this.  I prefer the rotisserie chicken because the white and dark meat is mixed together (although it is primarily white meat) which, I think, gives more flavor to anything I use it in.  I said all of that to let you know that I substitute the chicken breasts for 3 1/2 cups of the shredded rotisserie chicken.

The chicken is placed in a large skillet over medium heat and the dry seasonings are added to that.  If my chicken is frozen, I defrost it in the microwave first.  I toss it quite a bit to get the seasonings evenly distributed.  You'll notice another healthy aspect to this recipe is that no fats are used in the skillet.  This helps the seasonings adhere to the chicken without adding extra calories as it heats the chicken.   

Then the chicken broth is added along with the green onions and the roasted red peppers.  I have only found the red peppers in strips, so they need to be rough chopped before adding them to the skillet.  Stir to combine the ingredients and cooked until the chicken broth is completely cooked off (about 5 minutes).

While that's cooking down, I heat the tortillas in the microwave.  Once the meat is ready, I put some cheese on the tortilla and top it with the chicken mixture.  I know this looks like it's huge - it's probably twice as big as a taquito you would purchase in a restaurant, but smaller than a burrito.  I use the fajita size tortillas because it takes less time to make them big and I always have this size of tortilla in the kitchen so my boys can make quesadillas anytime they're hungry.  When taking them to a potluck, I use the taco size tortillas and use less filling.

They get rolled as tightly as possible and put seam side down on a baking pan.  I love, love, love, the Reynold's Non-Stick Aluminum Foil, as nothing EVER sticks to it, and again I'm not using any kind of oil.  So, of course, I have that in the pan on which I bake the taquitos.  They go in the oven for a total of 15 minutes, flipping them after 10 minutes.

They come out of the oven crispy and hot, in fact they are so hot, we have to let them sit for a few minutes before we can even eat them.  The recipe says to serve them with guacamole and sour cream, but we find them so tasty, that we eat them plain.  I will warn you that they are a bit on the spicy side, so if you don't like too much heat, you'll want to reduce the amount of cayenne and black peppers you use.  I cut the amount in half when taking these treats to potlucks.  When taking them on the road, I bake them ahead of time and keep them hot in a crock pot.

These taquitos are easy to make, quite filling, and oh so tasty!  Enjoy!

Baked Chicken Taquitos

•                3 ½ cups chicken from a rotisserie chicken

•                1 tbsp cumin

•                1 tsp cayenne pepper

•                1/2 tbsp ground black pepper

•                1/2 tsp salt

•                1/2 cup chicken broth

•                6 green onions (chopped)

•                1 cup roasted red pepper, from a jar (rough chopped)

•                1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

•                12 flour fajita size tortillas

Directions:

1.            Preheat the oven to 425°F. Heat a large skillet to medium heat add the chicken and season with the cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt.

2.            Once the chicken is evenly coated in seasonings, add the chicken broth, green onions, and roasted red pepper. Cook until the chicken broth is fully cooked off (about 5 minutes).

3.            Heat the tortillas in a paper towel in the microwave until soft (about 15 seconds).

4.            Fill each tortilla with approximately 1/3 cup of cheese and about 1/3 cup of chicken mixture, roll up and place fold-side down on a greased baking sheet.

5.            Bake the taquitos at 425°F until golden (about 15 minutes), flipping after 10 minutes.

Serve with guacamole and salsa.

Yields 10 Taquitos