Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Before meeting Luke I had never had a taquito before. Turns out they are pretty tasty! Luke is very particular about which ones he likes, the ones from Costco are his favorite. Unfortunately, we don't have a Costco membership so he very seldom gets them. So in the mean time I decided to try my hand at this homemade version. They are so delicious! We both think they are way better than then the store bought version. I almost always make a double batch and freeze most of them, they warm up great. We season our chicken with chili powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and cumin to give the recipe a bit more punch! We also use hot salsa because we think it needs that extra flavor. 


In other news, Luke and I are celebrating 9 months of marriage today! Wahoo! 

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Yields about 12 taquitos

Ingredients

• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup hot salsa
• 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1-2 green onions, chopped
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese 
• 10-12 6-inch flour tortillas
• Cooking spray
• Kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Cover baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, spices, cilantro. Add the green onions, chicken and shredded cheese.  Mix thoroughly until well combined.  

Briefly heat the tortillas in the microwave to make them soft and easy to roll about 20-3o seconds.  Place a tortilla on a work surface.  Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the filling mixture down the middle of the tortilla.  Roll the tortilla up tightly around the filling.  Place seam-side down on a baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling, spacing the assembled taquitos evenly on the baking sheet.  Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.  

(To freeze before baking, transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and chill the assembled taquitos 30-60 minutes.  Transfer to a freezer-safe container or plastic bag.  To bake from the freezer, simply add a few additional minutes to the original baking time, until the filling is warmed through.)

Bake 15-20 minutes, until crisp and golden brown.   Serve with salsa or sour cream. 

Adapted from: http://annies-eats.com/2011/04/27/creamy-chicken-taquitos/