Easy Chicken Taquitos

I am always on the lookout for quick, easy recipes that I can whip up with things I have at home. You see, I've been saying that I am going to start meal-planning for` about a year now and I have never really gotten into the swing of that consistently {lame, I know}. A typical week for me involves make a quick list in my head and on my phone as we are driving in to Walmart for groceries. I know my system is flawed because I always forget something, or I will realize I didn't account for a night that we were going to be home and needed dinner. Thankfully for absentminded wives and mothers like me {who need to start meal planning!}, there are recipes like this that are yummy and simple to make. We liked these chicken taquitos so much in fact that my husband actually asked me when I was going to make them again...and that, my friends, is the sign of a successful dinner!

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or pre-cooked/grilled chicken strips if you are in a time crunch)

1/2 C of cheddar cheese

1/3 can of diced green chiles 

1-2 T Taco Seasoning

8" Flour Tortillas

Serving Size: 

About 7-8 Taquitos. This was perfect for just Matt and I with a couple left over for the next day. If you have more than 2 people in your family, I would double the recipe! Shredding the chicken rather than just cutting it up would also make the recipe go farther! 

1. Preheat oven to 350*

2. Start by opening the pre-cooked chicken strips and slicing them into smaller pieces. You don't want big wraps, but small skinny taquitos. I think it's important to share that when I made this the first time I cooked the chicken myself because I always have frozen chicken breasts on hand. I thawed the breasts, cut them into small strips, salted and peppered them, and cooked them in a little olive oil and butter in my skillet. I also added the taco seasoning while they were cooking. This time I had a package of pre-cooked chicken strips that were already seasoned, so I just used those and added the taco seasoning. After you've cut up the strips to a size of your liking, throw them in a bowl.

3. Toss in your taco seasoning (you can add more or less to your liking) and diced chiles. Make sure to drain your can of chiles first. I used about 1/3 of the can of chiles. You can certainly use the entire can but be prepared for a little more kick. :)

4. Add your cheese and mix it all together.

5. Lay out one of your tortillas on a plate or cutting board and scoop a spoonful of the chicken mixture on the tortilla. You will want to spread the mixture along the edge of the tortilla and not in the middle. I even went with the curve of the tortilla, and you will see why in a moment.

6. Begin to roll the tortilla starting on the edge with the chicken mixture. Roll the tortilla as tight as possible, but not so tight that you are going to tear the tortilla. I used flour tortillas instead of corn for this very reason, but if you only have corn tortillas on hand, just heat them up in a skillet before topping and rolling them and that should help their flexibility.

7. Lay the tortilla seam-side down in a well-greased 8x8" baking dish. You may also use a 9x13" if you are doubling this recipe. Then repeat steps 5-7 until you have filled the entire dish.

8. I then sprayed the tops of the taquitos with cooking spray as well so that they would crisp up nicely. The tortillas won't really brown in the oven (except around the edges), but you want the shells to feel crispy to the touch.

9. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. The taquitos are done when the cheese is melty and bubbly and the shells feel crispy.

10. Serve as an appetizer with salsa or with other Mexican sides as a meal. We loved ours with salsa, and I think next time I will make a corn casserole to go with it as well. Yum!

The only thing I will do differently when I make these again is to actually cook the chicken myself and then shred the chicken finely in my stand mixer. I think the texture of the shredded chicken would be amazing! I hope you enjoy these soon!