Cream Cheese Chicken Taquitos

Oh man, was I lazy today. Second day of spring break, and we declared it an Extra Lazy Day. We watched movies and ate popcorn and I played way too many games of mah jong on my ipad... Bliss. Why? Because there was nothing else I was supposed to be doing. I even had a workout this morning! So I could revel in our couch-potato-ness. Tomorrow we'll go to the library and go swimming. But today was just what we all needed.

Sometimes I use recipes right off of Pinterest, but sometimes they're just the inspiration. This is one of those "inspired" recipes. I saw taquito recipes all over the place! The idea sounded yummy, but when I would go look at the recipe, the sheer amount of creamy fattiness in them turned me off. So I made up my own! I cut out a lot of the dairy filler (cream cheese and sour cream) and added bloomed spices for flavor. I knew (from past experience) that just adding ground spices to shredded chicken doesn't always equal yumminess. The flavors just don't meld together. Blooming the spices makes worlds of difference! Yes, you can just mix in some salsa if you want, but it's just not the same!

Cream Cheese Chicken Taquitos

Printable Recipe

3 cups cooked shredded chicken (I made it easy and used a grocery store rotisserie chicken)
1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

6 oz cream cheese, softened (go ahead, use low fat! It still tastes good!)
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped baby spinach

a few scallions, diced
6-inch flour tortillas flour tortillas (I made 12, if you use more or less filling...it varies!)
oil for frying (we like peanut oil best)

sour cream, guacamole, or salsa for serving

Heat 1-2 Tb oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the spices and stir for about 30 seconds, to let the spices "bloom". Add chicken, remove from heat, and stir/toss till spices are evenly distributed through the chicken. 

In a large bowl combine the chicken, cream cheese, cheddar, spinach, and scallions. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

One tortilla at a time, spread a few heaping tablespoons of the chicken mixture off center and spread out like a log. Roll up (leaving the ends open) and set seam side down on a platter. Repeat until all filling is used up.

Add enough oil to a large skillet to generously cover the bottom. Heat on medium heat and cook tortillas in batches, a few minutes on each side. Remove to paper towel-covered plate. Serve pretty warm, but be careful, they can be hot!

I actually didn't add scallions to this batch, I wanted to, but somehow they didn't make it home from the store with me... But I'm going to add them next time, so I put it in the recipe! These are very adjustable, you could skip the spices and just stir in some salsa, or add beans, corn, rice, jalapeno, chilies, fresh diced tomatoes, different cheeses... have fun with them!

HUGE hit here. Huge. We absolutely loved them!! The boys were convinced that they wouldn't, but they wanted more and more! An awesome sneaky way to feed your kids spinach, right here!

They got so much crunchier than I expected, but they weren't super greasy. You could definitely bake these instead, but I can't guarantee they'll be quite as awesome.

I'm going to make these again really soon. They're awfully easy and completely scrumptious. This goes on the Meal List!

Shared at Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits