Creamy Chicken Taquitos

From ourbestbites.com

Taquitos! Just in time for Cinco de Mayo

The tortillas baked up nice and crisp, and I found spraying the tops with a little cooking spray and a pinch of salt helped them have that deep-fried flair. And actually, I prefer this baked version because the deep fried ones tend to get so chewy and oily. These are super easy to make and even easier if you prepare the filling ahead of time. You could experiment with all kinds of filling--shredded beef or pork would be great, too.

Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing

Ingredients:

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken (for extra yumminess, use grilled taco chicken!)
1 C grated pepperjack cheese
small corn tortillas (and actually, flour ones are really good as well)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them a damp towel over them. Usually 30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.


Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

The ones pictured below are actually flour tortillas- which I found out I like just as well (maybe even better!) than corn ones.

Dip 'em in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, the Dressing above.



The dressing is a knock-off version of a Costa Vida/Cafe Rio style dressing, using Green salsa. Green salsa is made primarily from tomatillos and other things like jalapenos, limes, etc. And it's different than "green sauce" like Pace for example. Make sure to check the ingredient list and see that tomatillos are listed as the top ingredient. This is stuff I always have around so I can whip it up any time the craving comes along. And it comes along often! I love love love this dressing.

1 pack (1oz) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

(ignore directions on the packet)
1C mayo
1/2 C milk
1 lime
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 C Green Salsa*
Dash Hot Sauce

 Place milk, mayo, and ranch mix in a blender. Juice the lime in there too, you should get about 2T juice. Toss in the garlic, cilantro and green salsa. Blend 'er up. Sample it and add hot sauce to taste. Make it several hours ahead of time to allow it to thicken.

*A note about green salsa:

There are several brands of green salsa available in most supermarkets and they have various degrees of heat. One of the most commonly seen brands is Herdez. Herdez brand is a lot spicier than any of the others I've tried. Even their medium green salsa is really spicy!  I like to buy La Costena (pictured) because their medium is actually really mild. That way I get all of the flavor of the tomatillos but I control the level of heat with the hot sauce. If you're not used to buying green salsa, make sure to sample it first before you put it in the dressing so you know what you're getting into!

I use this on salads, and also as a dip for things like chicken fingers, veggies and steak fries.