Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

AND WE HAVE A WINNER!!!  It's so nice when I kids really enjoy the meal I make.  They are extremely picky & some nights I wonder why I even cooked when they would be much happier with chicken nuggets.  But this doesn't happen when I make these Taquitos.  All 3 of my kids eat at least 2 & are always telling me how much they love this dinner.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

• 3oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/4c green salsa
• 1T fresh lime juice (1/2 a lime)
• 1/2t ground cumin
• 1t chili powder
• 1/2t onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3T chopped cilantro
• 2T sliced green onions
• 2C shredded cooked chicken
• 1c shredded Mexican flavored cheese
• 12 small flour tortillas (I buy the raw tortillas & cook them myself.  They taste so much better & they're easier to roll)
• salt
• cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 425'F.  Line a baking sheet with wax paper.  In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder & garlic.  Once combined, stir in the cilantro & green onions.  Add the chicken and cheese; mix thoroughly.

Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20-30 seconds).  It you are using the raw tortillas, cook them & then you won't have to reheat them in the microwave.

Spoon 2-3T of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla.  Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can.

Place the rolled tortillas, seam side down, on the baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas, until the mixture is gone.

Make sure the taquitos are not touching each other. 

Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray & sprinkle with a little salt.  

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp & golden.

Serve with salsa, sour cream & guacamole.

Recipe from Chef in Training

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

So I LOVE Mozzarella Sticks but I don't love the fat.  These sticks are great because they are baked & you can use low-fat cheese to make them even healthier.  Pair them with my Quick & Easy Marinara Sauce & you've got the perfect snack for any party.  You can even freeze them in large batches for future use.  

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Servings: 12  Serving Size: 2 pieces  Calories: 86.8  Fat: 4.8g

Protein: 7.4g  Carbs: 3.5g  Fiber: 0.2g  Sugar: 0.2g   Sodium: 168.6  

• 12 sticks part-skim, reduced sodium mozzarella string cheese (Sargento)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2T flour
• 5T Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 5T Panko crumbs
• 2t parmesan cheese
• 1T dried parsley
• olive oil cooking spray 

    Cut cheese in half to give you 24 pieces.  Place the cheese in the freezer until cheese is frozen.

    In a small bowl, whisk the egg.  Place the flour on another small dish.  In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, panko, parmesan cheese & dried parsley.

    Dip the frozen sticks in the flour, shaking off the excess, then into the egg, then coat with the crumbs.

    Repeat this process with the remaining cheese placing them on a tray with wax paper.  Place the cheese back into the freezer until ready to bake (this is a must or they will melt before the crumbs get golden).

     When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400'F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil & lightly spray with oil.

    Place frozen cheese sticks on the baking sheet.  Spray the tops of the mozzarella sticks with a little more oil and bake in the bottom 3rd of your oven until crisp, about 4-5 minutes.  Turn and bake and additional 4-5 minutes, watching then closely so they don't melt.

Makes 24 pieces

Recipe from Gina's Skinny Recipes