Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Submitted by Lili Barbosa
From Ourbestbites.com, with some modifications by Lili

1/3 c. (3 oz.) cream cheese
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 Tbsp. lime juice (1/2 lime)
1/2 onion or 1 whole small onion
2 cloves pressed garlic
Cholula Hot Sauce (Chili Garlic), approx. 2 swigs
2 Tbsp. sliced green onions (Lili's trick: cut up the green onions and cilantro and put together in a plastic tupperware and keep in freezer to use in the next batch.)

3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

2 c. shredded cooked chicken (for extra yumminess, use grilled taco chicken!) - I use 3 chicken breasts

1 c. grated pepperjack cheese (I use mozzarella because that's usually what I already have and I usually add about 2 c. because I love cheese!)

Small corn tortillas (I use flour and if you use fresh tortillas from Costco, they cook way faster, like 8 min. or less)

Kosher salt (I've wanted to try this, but always chicken out last minute because we don't eat a lot of salt.)

Cooking spray

Heat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. (I just use pizza pans with the holes, no foil.)  Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir.  Saute the garlic and onions then add the shredded chicken.  In another bowl, combine: Roma tomatoes, cilantro and green onions.  Add the chicken, onions and garlic.  Add lime juice and chili sauce, then stir in the cream cheese and shredded cheese.

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 between damp paper towels.  Usually 20-30 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 and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 Tbsp. 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, or this dressing.

Makes 12-16

Mexican Rice

Submitted by Laura Hintze

1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. butter
¼ cup onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ cup long grain rice
3 cup chicken broth
1 tomato, chopped
1 tsp. salt

Heat butter and oil over medium high heat and saute onion and garlic.  Add rest of ingredients, bring to a boil and let simmer until rice is tender.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

 

Submitted by Rachel Meacham

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white shoepeg corn, drained
6-8 fresh tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped finely
4-8 oz Zesty Italian Dressing

Stir all ingredients in a large bowl. Serve with tortilla chips.

(Note: I usually make this salsa using the Zesty Italian Dressing, but for the cooking club I tried something new using a mixture of olive oil, red wine vinaigrette, salt, pepper, and lime juice. I think I actually like the recipe the original way better--using the Zesty Italian Dressing.)

Pico de Gallo

Submitted by Kate Waldie

4-5 medium roma tomatoes, diced very fine
3-4 green onions, chopped
~1 Tbsp. yellow onion, minced
1 can (4 oz.) green chilies
~1/2 bunch cilantro, washed & chopped
~1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. white sugar
1-2 tsp. salt

Mix all ingredients well. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour before serving.

Low-Calorie Cafe Rio Dressing

Submitted by Danica Nelson

1 packet of dry ranch dressing mix
1 10-oz. can of green enchilada sauce
1/2 cup fat-free cottage cheese
1/4 cup light mayonnaise (35 cal. per Tbsp.)
1 cup 1% milk
1 bunch cilantro, chopped (I don't use the stems, but you could)
Jalapeno to taste (I use about 3-4 slices from a jar)
Juice of one lime
Garlic, salt, Splenda to taste

Blend in your blender (the ranch dressing mix will thicken the dressing). When well mixed, add water to bring mixture to the 4-cup line. This will make 64 Tbsp. at 9 calories each!  Yummy on Mexican-style salads, burritos, fresh tortillas, etc.

Pico de Gallo

Submitted by Laura Lopez

6 tomatoes
1/3 yellow onion
1 cup cilantro
1/2 jalapeno, add seeds for extra spiciness
1 Tbsp. garlic salt
1/2 squeezed fresh lime

Dice tomatoes, onion, jalapeno and cilantro finely. Mix well. Add garlic, and finish with lime. Stir and for best results let all flavors blend together. Let salsa sit in fridge until ready to serve.

Lola's Horchata

Submitted by Shauna Hinckley

From Allrecipes.com…tweaked by Shauna

1+ cup uncooked white long-grain rice
5 cups water
½-1 cup milk (or coconut milk to make this lactose-free)
½ Tbsp. vanilla extract
2-3 cinnamon sticks or 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
2/3 cup white sugar

Soak the rice, water, and one or two cinnamon sticks in a large container in the fridge for several hours or overnight. Remove the cinnamon sticks. Pour the rice and water into the bowl of a blender; blend until the rice just begins to break up, about 1 minute. Let rice and water stand at room temperature for a minimum of 3 hours. Strain the rice water into a pitcher and discard the rice (or save it to make rice pudding or something). Mix the sugar with some water, microwave it until the sugar is dissolved into the water and it makes a thin syrup. Stir the milk, vanilla, and sugar syrup into the rice water. If using ground cinnamon, stir that in now or float another cinnamon stick if desired. Chill and stir before serving.

Sopapillas & Dulche de Leche

Submitted by Lili Barbosa

Sopapillas

1 ¾ cup plain flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2/3 cup milk
Hot vegetable oil for frying
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
Honey or caramel – optional, recipe below

Mix dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the milk and knead for 1 minute on floured surface. Let dough set for one hour. Roll dough into large rectangle 1/8” thickness. Use a pizza cutter to cut 2” wide strips of dough, then cut strips into 2” squares, then cut squares diagonally in half. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a shallow baking dish and set aside. Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in deep fryer. When oil reaches 375 degrees, drop dough triangles into hot oil. They should rise to the surface, and puff, then brown on the bottom very quickly. Use tongs to quickly turn sopapillas over. When dough is golden brown on both sides, remove from oil carefully, and place on paper towels. While sopapillas are still very warm, put them in the cinnamon and sugar mixture and spoon mixture over sopapillas to thoroughly coat them.

Milk Caramel (DULCHE de LECHE)

Purchase any brand of sweetened condensed milk. Place two inches of water in a pressure cooker and place up to four cans of sweetened condensed milk in the pressure cooker. Close lid securely. Put on high heat until the steam cap begins to jiggle, then turn burner down to low heat. Cook on low flame for 30 minutes for a light-colored caramel or up to 45 minutes for dark caramel. You may alternately cook these in a regular pot of water. Just fill to above the level of the cans and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for 2 hours. Keep an eye on the water level so it remains just above the cans. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Take cans out of pressure cooker and allow to cool some more. Open and ENJOY!