Baked Chicken Taquitos

These are so good, I can't even tell you. It is well documented that I love Mexican-esque foods but, even for me, taquitos are often dry and tasteless, or worse, rolling around next to those hamburger-hot dog thingies at Seven Eleven. Yuck. But not these! So good. Great for a snack, party food, or even a meal. 

These can be assembled and frozen, too, for those days that you just don't feel like doing anything more than throwing something in the oven. I usually double (or triple) the recipe and freeze the excess. I had lofty plans of making a ton of these in the last few weeks of pregnancy to freeze for post-baby meals but, alas, Violet came exactly three weeks early (and on my would-be last day of work, no less). 

I highly recommend these. They are delicious!

Ingredients:

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup salsa

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp onion powder

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp cilantro, chopped

1-2 green onions, chopped

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese

12 6-inch flour tortillas

Cooking spray

Kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, spices, garlic, cilantro, green onion, chicken and cheese. Mix well until ingredients are combined.

Heat the tortillas for 20-30 seconds in the microwave to soften them and make them easier to roll up. Place a tortilla on a work surface and spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken filling down the center of the tortilla. Roll up the tortilla tightly around the filling. Place seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining filling and tortillas, spacing the filled tortillas evenly on the baking sheet. 

If you want to freeze your taquitos, at this point you can place the baking sheet in the freezer for 30-60 minutes and then place them in a freezer-safe storage container. I usually wrap each individually in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag. When ready to bake, remove them from the container, place on prepared baking sheet.

Spray the tops of the taquitos lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle each with a pinch of kosher salt (don't skip this step, the kosher salt makes them extra special).

Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden brown (if you are baking them from the freezer, add extra time to allow them to be warm throughout). Serve with salsa and sour cream, if desired.

Makes roughly 12 taquitos, you will probably want 2-3 taquitos per person.

Adapted from Annie's Eats.