Low-fat Chicken Taquitos

I love Mexican food and there is no other diet bomb that does me in like eating Mexican food. So I came up with a way to make chicken taquitos that is lower in fat than the traditional taquitos. Of course the whole idea of fat-free goes out the window when you add the Guacamole dip, but hey avocados are good for you, aren't they?

To start off you must make the chicken mixture to stuff the taquito. The following ingredients are what I used but you can use any variation that suits you. You may have some chicken left over after stuffing the taquitos and you can use it for anything you like.

CHICKEN TAQUITO FILLING

2 Whole Chicken Breasts (4 halves)

½ bunch of Cilantro

1 small can of Ortega Chiles

½ cup of onions

1 small tomato

Cut up chicken into small pieces. Then cut up cilantro, onion, and tomato, the smaller the better. Throw in the can of chiles and cook the whole mixture in a frying pan until there is fluid from the ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook until there is just a little fluid left, turn off heat, then set aside.

Next take a 13" x 9" baking pan and line with your choice of cooking oil spray. Set pan aside and place tortillas in the microwave for about 1 minute. The tortillas that I used were a new Mission tortilla. They are a bit difficult to find but I like them best. Mission makes a flour tortilla which has corn mixed in. I like these because you have the texture and taste of corn combined with flour. Also these are easier to roll than corn tortillas. (You can also use the Premium blend for enchiladas)

If you can't find these you can use corn or flour depending on your choice but you will find that flour is easier to roll than corn tortillas. If the corn tortillas are not heated enough they will crack and split. This is why I like the new Mission Premium Blend Tortillas.

Next take a small amount of the chicken mixture and put it in one side of the tortilla and sprinkle cheese along the chicken. Roll the taquito keeping it as tight a roll as you possibly can. At the end of rolling the taquito, dip your finger in some of the fluid left over from the chicken mixture and apply the fluid to the end flap of the taquito, and finish your rolling. This will help to keep it from coming unrolled as it cooks. Place taquito I dish with the end flap down and continue until all are rolled up and ready to cook.

Once you have all of your taquitos rolled up and placed in the dish, spray liberally with cooking oil spray. Pay particular attention to the ends of the taquitos as they will dry out and brown the most. Place in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Cook for about 20 minutes to a half hour or until tortillas start to brown. Once they start to brown spray with oil again but not too much. Sprinkle with grated cheese and place back in oven until cheese melts. Once Cheese melts remove from oven and serve with the dip of your choice.

You will find that your taquitos are crunchy and tasty. These are lower in fat than the usual taquito because they have not been deep-fried. You will want to dip them into something. The best thing to use would be the salsa of your choice and low-fat sour cream. Of course there is always Guacamole but this has fat in it, but it is the kind of fat you want to eat. If you want to learn how to make Guacamole, look for my recipe on Associated Content.