Chicken

Taquitos

My first remembrance of both taquitos an guacamole is from the mid 1950's. There was a proliferation of taco stands and offered tasty, zesty and cheep snack food and provided a hangout for teens. The taquito order was for 4 or 6 shredded beef-filled taquitos and they were served in a paper boat with a dollop of guacamole sauce. I noticed that some restaurants still offer the taquitos in a similar manner, as “Six, Shredded Beef or Shredded Chicken Taquitos topped with Cheddar Cheese and lettuce, Guacamole and Sour Cream on the side, then garnished with Spiced Carrots and a Jalapeno Pepper.” A bit more on presentation than the paper boat with a waxed paper liner of the 50's taco stand but certainly the same taquito. Literally a little taco, taquitos are a corn tortilla rolled tightly around some filling. They are very similar to flautas but a bit smaller in diameter. I consider taquitos and flautas similar in this - a taco strripped of all but the tortilla and meat filling, the flauta is not but a enchilada stripped of all but its tortilla and meat filling, and both are rolled tightly and then fried. I have enjoyed a similar dish in Mexico where a tortila is rolled around a bit of hoop cheese (queso blanco), rolled and fried. However, I think taquitos are more of an NorteAmerican dish than Mexican food but popular just the same. Most taco-stand taquitos seem to be made with a simple shredded beef filling. This recipe is for nice savory chicken-filled taquitos. Quick and simple to make, you can make your own personalized taquitos in a snap .

Preparation Time : 1 hour

Makes about 2 dozen taquitos

Life Experience Recipe

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup shredded Cheddaer-Jack cheese mix
• 1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 1 dozen packs corn tortillas

• 1 10-ounce can medium red enchilada sauce
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup vegetable Oil
• Dipping sauce - salsa or guacaole

1. In a small saucepan with a lid, place chicken, onion, garlic and green chiles. Add just enough water to almost cover. Heat over medium high heat until boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Turn chicken every 5 minutes.
2. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. Continue heating cooking liquid with vegetables until reduced by half. Add enchilada sauce, stir to mix well, remove from heat and let cool.
3. When chicken is cool enough to work with, use two forks, in a pulling apart motion, to shred the chicken meat.
4. When sauce mixture has cooled, process in blender to make a smooth purred sauce.
5. In a large bowl, combine chicken, sauce mixture and cheese. Mix well and set aside.
6. In a small skillet, heat oil to 350°F. When oil is hot, use tongs to dip tortillas in oil and fry about 5 seconds on each side. Drain on paper towels then wrap in a cloth towel and keep in oven warmed to 200°F.
7. Place 2 tablespoons chicken mixture onto center of each tortilla, almost edge to edge. Roll snugly. May require a toothpick stuck through taquito to keep from unrolling (remove toothpick after cooking). Place seam side down on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes or until browned and nicely crisp.
8. If a finger food, serve with dipping sauce of choice on the side. If sit-down dinner, ladle sauce over taquitos on plate. Serve with beans and rice.

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