Monday, January 30, 2012

Baked Chicken and Cheese Taquitos ~ Perfect Party Food!

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Skip the sodium rich Mexican seasoning packets you find at the store and control the ingredients you're serving your family and friends!  The filling for these Chicken and Cheese Taquitos is very versatile...it can be used in chilies, Mexican pizzas, quesadillas, burritos, enchiladas, ultimate nachos and tacos...

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Using ground chicken rather than beef and baking in the oven as oppose to deep frying... helps keep this favorite Mexican party food, "on the lighter side" without sacrificing flavor!

Make the taquitos ahead of time and simply reheat when ready to serve...a tray of these at any gathering (even at room temperature) will surely be the first to go!

Baked Chicken and Cheese Taquitos

Ingredients:

1 lb ground chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons dark chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1, 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies drained (I used ROTEL brand)
2 cups, shredded Mexican cheese (a mixture of Cheddar and Jack)
Canola or Vegetable oil for brushing the tops
about 18 small soft tortilla shells
Sour cream, chopped scallion, salsa and hot sauce for the side

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat olive oil in large pan. Add onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add ground chicken and with a spatula, break the chicken apart and move it all around the pan. Continue breaking up the chicken and cooking until no longer pink, about 8 minutes.

Add chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper and mix together well coating the chicken with the spices.  Add drained tomatoes and green chilies and mix together well to incorporate all ingredients, about 2 additional minutes.  Spoon the chicken into a large bowl and stir in your cheese until well combined.

Cover soft tortilla shells with a damp paper towel (6 at a time) and place in the microwave until pliable, about 40-60 seconds. (Alternatively, you could heat tortillas up in a hot cast iron pan a few seconds on each side.)

Take your pliable tortilla shells and spoon about 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the shell. Roll up lengthwise and end seam side down. Continue with remaining tortillas. 

Place taquitos seam side down on a lightly greased pan (or one lined with parchment paper). Brush the tops lightly with canola oil. Bake in the preheated oven about 8 minutes or until taquitos are slightly brown on top and the filling is bubbling.

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14 comments:

Karen said...

Mmmm...these look like a winner to me. I never want to make taquitos because of deep frying is such a pain, so that makes these very doable!

Lea Ann (Highlands Ranch Foodie) said...

But I like those sodium rich packets from the grocery ... just kidding. I'm loving this recipe, especially the no fry part. As always, your photos are just outstanding.

Blog is the New Black said...

Want these for dinneR!

Unknown said...

Can I place an order and have you deliver them to me :) Please oh please oh please????

Kim (Feed Me, Seymour) said...

These look fantastic! We were planning on just having hot dogs for the Super Bowl, but now that plan has totally changed.

Unknown said...

Thanks guys! They're delicious! My husband LOVES these little guys!

Pixie O'Kneel said...

When you say "small soft tortilla shells" do you mean corn or flour tortillas? It looks like you used flour tortillas in the picture.

Thanks!

Unknown said...

@Pixie - great question!!!! I did use flour but bet corn would be great too! Let me know if you make them w/corn tortillas!

wendyweekendgourmet said...

Love that these are baked...any calorie savings is a good thing in my book! These look so good...

Katerina said...

I know I would party if I had these for my lunch today! They look very tasty. I agree with you there is no reason why we cannot healthify some recipes without losing in flavor. This is a winner!

Lea Ann (Highlands Ranch Foodie) said...

I just stopped by to review the recipe/process ... making these tonight.

Tracy @ Daily Deal Blog said...

Perfect for our party this weekend. Love the flavor combo of this recipe. Beautiful pictures!

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Popped in from Highland Ranch Foodie's remake of these. They look delicious and what a great way to serve a light but flavorful taquitos.

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