Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Oh Spring Break...just thinking about it brings back memories of the crazy things we did during Spring Break in high school. My friends and I would lay by the pool for hours with no thought of skin cancer or wrinkles. My friend "D" even lathered herself up in cooking oil.

One Spring Break may have involved Dairy Queen soap and a fountain but that's a whole other story. I remember one Spring Break my friends were spending the night at my house and we snuck out of my bedroom window, rolled the car in neutral all the way down my long street, then popped it into gear and drove off to Filbertos.

Filbertos was the meeting place for any and all high schoolers who were up to no good, looking for something to do. At any hour of the night someone would be there to hang out with or talk to since it was a 24hour restaurant...if you could call it that. It was a hole in the wall and the food was...well...questionable. I usually stuck with something safe with no meat in it like a cheese quesadilla. Every once in a while my friend Meaghan would get their taquitos and we would split them. Chewy, greasy, taquitos. Hey maybe taquito grease makes for a good tan?

SO when I first saw these taquitos, that's what I thought of...Filbertos mystery-meat-greasy taquitos. How pleasantly suprised I was when my friend Heidi told me to try these. These are on the other end of the spectrum. Baked, creamy, flavorful chicken taquitos. We tried both corn and flour tortillas. We slightly favored the taste of the flour tortillas and they were easier to roll. These can be an appetizer or add some beans and rice and you have a meal.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Recipe by OurBestBites.com

1/3 cup (3 oz) cream cheese
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
2 Tablespoons sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated pepperjack cheese
about 12 small corn or flour tortillas (we liked flour better)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder and mix well. Add cilantro, green onions, chicken and pepperjack cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

The corn tortillas are harder to roll without cracking. For the corn tortillas: 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 come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 3 Tablespoons 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. Makes around 12 taquitos.

Dip in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or Tomatillo Dressing. They would be great with black beans and this Cilantro Lime Rice.