Baked Chicken (Or Bean!) Taquitos

You all remember taquitos, right? You know, those crispy, greasy corn tortillas filled a mystery meat and cheese combo and fried to perfection? My husband holds these in high esteem from his junior high years, where the family would stock up at Sam's and then he would forage them out of the freezer and pop into the fryer whenever his teenage cravings kicked in. Me? Well, I remember them well from a restaurant we used to frequent on North Oak in Kansas City (Margarita's), except they called them flautas. Whatever you call them, they are probably awful for you--unless you make these! We will continue our 'adoration of Mel fest' here on this blog with the sharing of this recipe for Baked Chicken Taquitos. They are baked, yet still divinely crisp, and filled with recognizable, nameable, and wholesome ingredients. These particular ones are chicken and cheese, but I realized while making them that I think you could easily partially mash a can of black or pinto beans in with the rest of the filling (in place of the chicken, or go half and half if you like) and they'd be rockin'. This realization made me mad that it came after a year of thinking I couldn't eat these little babies.  And that is a first world problem, my friends. Enjoy these crispy little gems the next time you get a little craving for Mexican food of your past.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

-from melskitchencafe.com

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup green salsa
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro (I adore this, but left it out because I thought my 5 year old my actually eat them if she couldn't see green. I was right!)
• 1 green onion, sliced finely (green and white parts)
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (alternately, insert the beans as previously mentioned)
• 1 cup grated monterey jack cheese (use pepperjack if you like a little heat)
• small yellow or white corn tortillas
• kosher salt
• cooking spray

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. In a medium-sized bowl, mix softened cream cheese, green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken (or beans) and cheese and combine well. You can prepare this step ahead of time and pop it in the fridge (I did). When you are ready for dinner, get out your tortillas and proceed as follows. Working with a few tortillas at a time (4 max), place 3-4 between two damp paper towels and microwave for 30-45 seconds, until tortillas are soft and pliable and don’t crack while rolling Place 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on the lower third of a soft tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Then roll it up as tight as you can. You can use a toothpick if you need to, but don't panic if they crack. Just warm your next batch up a bit longer. Place filled taquitos seam side down on the baking sheet, making sure they don’t touch each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and lightly sprinkle some kosher (or coarse sea) salt on top. Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. Serve immediately, with several dipping options...more of that salsa verde, salsa, sour cream, guacamole....yep, all of these options were on my plate.