Chicken Taquitos

I took the plunge and changed the face of my blog. This was hard for me. Even though I was getting tired of the little floating flower things on the sides and the greenish color, I tend to get sentimental about little details. I wanted something more sophisticated. I'm excited because now I can make my pictures bigger too. I would love to know what you think!

For today, I have a delicious, inexpensive, and healthy meal to share with you! This comes from Hungry Girl, who is well known for her guilt-free recipes.

These chicken taquitos are packed full of flavor, you would never guess that they are light and healthy! I loved the flavor of the corn tortillas. And don't be afraid of the canned chicken, it is moist and tender. I admit, I sort of felt like I was opening a can of cat food, but these definitely tasted better than cat food! (although, I've never actually tried cat food). I enjoyed these with salsa and sour cream, and a kale salad on the side...however, I really didn't like the raw kale so I might not be sharing that recipe with you as I had planned! But in the end, this meal was healthful and delicious, and I know I will be making them again in the future. This simple recipe puts those frozen taquitos to shame!

Note: The recipe said to use a 9.75 or 10-ounce can of chicken. I found neither, so I used (2) 5-ounce cans.

Chicken Taquitos (Print)
from Hungry Girl 123
Prep: 25 minutes / Bake: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

10-ounces canned 98% fat-free white chicken breast in water, drained and flaked into small pieces
1/2 cup salsa
1/3 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese (I used regular cheese)
1/4 teaspoon dry taco seasoning mix
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Nonstick cooking spray
Toothpicks
Optional toppings: sour cream, salsa, enchilada sauce

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and salsa. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

2. After 15 minutes, add the cheese and taco seasoning to the chicken. Mix and set aside.

3. Dampen two paper towels and place the tortillas between them. Microwave for about 1 minute. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

4. Take one tortilla and very lightly spray each side with nonstick spray. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the chicken onto the tortilla (I 'scored' my filling into 8 slices, like a pizza, so that I knew I had even amounts). Spread it evenly over the whole surface. Roll up the tortilla. Place seam-side down on the baking sheet and place a toothpick in the center to secure. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

5. Bake for 14-16 minutes, until crispy. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and serve!

NUTRITION FACTS: 2 tortillas equals: 197 calories, 2.5g fat, 594mg sodium, 22.5g carbs, 3g fiber, 2g sugar, 20.5g protein.

My Review

Creamy Tarragon Chicken with Couscous and Peas

Confession #1: I have been in somewhat of a blogging funk lately.

Confession #2: I have an AMAZING chocolate chip cookie recipe to share with you, but those pictures are locked away in the ol' laptop until further notice.

Confession #3: I think you should know that for some reason, the only way to see the pictures from my memory card on this new computer is to click on each individual file until I find the one I want! I'm sure the settings can be changed, but trust me, seeing 600+ little picture files all lined up makes you want to run away and forget about the whole blogging thing!

Confession #4: This is why there is only one picture on this post, and I don't even think it's the best one, I just happened to find it and decided it was decent enough to do the job. I possibly would have edited it (via auto-adjust. Go ahead, shun me) but I have no idea how to do that yet on this computer.

Confession #5: Typing on this keyboard still feels very strange after having a laptop for so long, and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

Confession #6: I love having a mouse now though! It's much better than the little square of something that you slide your finger on from the laptop.

I'm done now, I promise.

Now I'll get to the point here. This chicken recipe is from this blog and it is fantastic! I had a hankering to try couscous, and as soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to give it a whirl. The creamy sauce is packed full of flavor, and the couscous made a wonderful starchy bed for the delicious chicken. When cooking the couscous, I just followed the directions on the container, substituting half the water for chicken broth to give it more flavor. I steamed the peas in the microwave and then mixed them together.

I made a few changes to the recipe to make the process easier for myself. This dish is very simple and it's a great way to introduce yourself to this wonderful Israeli style pasta!

Creamy Tarragon Chicken with Couscous and Peas (Print)
adapted from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice
Total time: 20-30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

2 tablespoons canola oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup half & half
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Black pepper, to taste

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cut chicken breasts into thin (1/4 to 1/2 inch) slices. Sprinkle chicken with tarragon. Add chicken to skillet; avoid turning until the first side is cooked. At this point, flip the chicken strips and add the garlic to the skillet, gently stirring as needed.

2. Add chicken broth and salt. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Start the couscous if you are serving it.

3. As soon as the chicken is cooked through, you can choose to remove it to a plate or keep it in the skillet (I left it in the skillet). Add the half & half, mustard, and black pepper to taste. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Serve over couscous and peas.

My Review

Just a Bit of Fun

Here I am, having the opportunity to write a blog post and I can't. For a few reasons. First of all, we got a new computer (which is amazing!), but our pictures haven't been transferred over yet. This means that I only have access to the pictures on my memory card, which totals to three recipes I could share with you.

One of them was completely terrible and we threw it out after our valiant attempts to choke down our portions. It was a vegetarian shepherd's pie, made with lentils. I don't know what it was, but it tasted strangely like barbecue sauce. I think it was the vegetable broth, that stuff was nasty when I tasted it! I won't tell you which blog I got this recipe from... :)

The other recipe was a variation on chili, but I wasn't too impressed. My final recipe was really good and I even started the blog post for it, but I just didn't feel inspired. I don't want to write about a delicious recipe when I don't feel like it. That takes away all the fun, ya know?

So as I was browsing through the pictures on my memory card, I thought I might share some photos of our recent visit to the zoo, enjoy!