Baked Chicken Taquitos

This past weekend, I went to homecoming at the college I attended with a bunch of sorority sisters. While we were hanging out, we reminisced about the chicken taquitos that we used to be served at our sorority house. I mentioned to all of the girls that I had a recipe I use that I absolutely love, and that while they don't taste exactly like the ones we had in college, they are pretty darn tasty. I thought I would share the recipe with all of you. I know you won't be disappointed.

This recipe makes quite a few taquitos. The leftovers freeze really well. I like to serve these with some spicy black beans or homemade spanish rice.

Baked Chicken Taquitos
Makes 12-16 Taquitos
Adapted from: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/04/baked-creamy-chicken-taquitos.html

Ingredients:
1/3 cup or 3 ounces reduced fat cream cheese (I use fat free but it does affect the flavor of the dish)
1/4 cup Salsa Verde or green salsa (this can be found in the aisle with all the mexican foods/salsas or you can make some homemade)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro - optional if you dislike cilantro
2 tablespoons green onions - chopped
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (see my recipe for this below or buy a rotisserie chicken and take the skin off and shred the meat from the chicken)
1 cup pepperjack cheese - shredded
12-16 small corn tortillas or flour tortillas (make sure to use whole grain if you use flour tortillas to boost the nutrition in this dish) I prefer corn tortillas but flour tortillas are how the sorority made them.
salt
nonstick cooking spray

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees
-In a microwavable bowl, add the cream cheese and place in the microwave until it is softened and somewhat melted. This should take 20-30 seconds at most.
-Remove bowl from microwave and add the salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder and mix until all the mixture is combined.
-To the bowl, add green onions, cilantro, chicken, and pepperjack cheese and stir until the mixture is completely combined.
-Now time to prep the corn tortillas.
-Microwave corn tortillas wrapped in a damn paper towel for 20 seconds to warm them up. This also ensures they won't tear when you go to roll them.
-Take each corn tortilla and place roughly 3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture in the center portion of the tortilla.
-Once you have placed some mixture on each corn tortilla, roll up each corn tortilla tightly.
-If using flour tortillas, no need to heat them up prior to filling them with the chicken mixture.
-On a baking sheet, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, place each rolled up tortilla on the sheet, seam side down.
-Spray the tops of all taquitos with a light spray of olive oil or nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle a small amount of salt on each of them.
-Place baking sheet in oven and bake taquitos for 15-20 minutes. You will know they are done when they are lightly golden brown and somewhat crispy.
-Remove from oven and eat

Recipe for shredded chicken breasts: Place 3 large chicken breasts in a crockpot. Cover chicken with a large can of salsa. Cook on high 5-6 hours or until chicken shreds easily and is cooked completely.

Tip:
-These taste really good when you dip them in light sour cream, salsa, or queso dip.

Enjoy! :)