Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos with Café Rio Lime Cilantro Rice

Recipe by OurBestBites.com

1/3 cup (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated pepperjack cheese
about 12 small corn or flour tortillas (we liked flour better)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder and mix well. Add cilantro, green onions, chicken and pepperjack cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

The corn tortillas are harder to roll without cracking. For the corn tortillas: work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 3 Tablespoons of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. Makes around 12 taquitos.

(Double this for large crowd)

2 Tb. Butter
pepper to taste
1 ¼ rice
juice and zest 1 large or 2 small limes
2 ¼ cups chicken broth
2 Tb. chopped cilantro
¾ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cumin

In a skillet melt butter with rice, add liquid, and other ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

 **This meal came from the same blogger as the Crockpot Italian Chicken-awesome recipes!!!  We all loved both of these recipes; they were both simple, fast, and delicious!
Here is the blog they came from if you'd like to check out more of her recipes!
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/04/baked-creamy-chicken-taquitos.html

Crockpot Italian Chicken

4 chicken breasts

1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing (Regular is fine but I like zesty better. Sometimes I use a packet and a half.)

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending how cream cheesy you want it)

Place the chicken in a crockpot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it. Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat and pour over chicken. Cook on low for at least 4 hours. You can leave it in there all day. If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little milk. Serve over pasta or rice. 

**I found this recipe on this blog:  http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/07/crockpot-italian-chicken.html.  OH MY GOSH.  Easiest recipe!  Kids loved it; they actually told me I was the best cook in the world:) 

Banana Snack Cake

Ingredients: (what I used)
1 cup white sugar (3/4 cup)
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (1/2 cup skim milk)
1 cup mashed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick cooking oats (1 cup old fashioned oats)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (1/2 cup sliced almonds)
1/2 cup flaked coconut (3/4 cup flaked coconut)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. In a medium bowl, mix flour, oats, baking soda and salt together and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition. Mix in buttermilk, bananas and vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix well. Finally, fold in the nuts, coconut and 1 cup of the chocolate chips.

3. Pour batter into 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle top with remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, (mine took about 45 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

4. Enjoy

**This is SO delicious!  I served it at playgroup and it was a hit!  I'd maybe use fewer chocolate chips, but there weren't any complaints!

Roast Beef Wrap with Horseradish Slaw

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 cup coleslaw mix
2 10 inch tortillas
2 cups spinach leaves
6 ounces sliced roast beef
4 ounces sliced deli cheddar cheese


In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and horseradish. Fold in the coleslaw mix. Dividing evenly, top two tortillas with spinach, roast beef, and cheddar. Roll up tightly, folding in the sides.

Wrap and refrigerate for up to one day. Makes two tortillas.

This is tasty and fast! A little spicy for the kids, but Jensen picked the meat and cheese out of it! Great side to a soup!

Mushroom and Sausage Ragu with Polenta

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 8 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked polenta
• 4 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon butter

Preparation

1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Remove sausage from casings. Add sausage to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove sausage from pan.

2. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in sausage, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium; simmer gently for 15 minutes.

3. Bring broth and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add polenta, stirring well. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 20 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, cheese, and butter. Serve with sausage mixture.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

428

Fat:

18.7g (sat 8.4g,mono 8.5g,poly 1.4g)

Protein:

18.2g

Carbohydrate:

46g

Fiber:

4.6g

Cholesterol:

53mg

Iron:

3.3mg

Sodium:

821mg

Calcium:

74mg

Cool, Creamy Chocolate Dessert

You can make this up to one day ahead, but spread the remaining whipped topping mixture over the chocolate pudding layer right before serving.

Yield: 15 servings (serving size: 1 piece)

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
• Cooking spray
• Filling:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) carton frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed and divided
• 3 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 2 (3.9-ounce) packages chocolate instant pudding mix
• Unsweetened cocoa (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. To prepare crust, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor; pulse 2 times or until combined. Add butter; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in pecans. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325° for 20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool completely.

3. To prepare filling, place 1 cup sugar and cream cheeses in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Fold in half of whipped topping. Spread cream cheese mixture on cooled crust. Cover loosely; refrigerate 1 hour.

4. Combine milk and pudding mix in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or until pudding is set. Spread the pudding mixture over cream cheese layer. Spread remaining half of thawed whipped topping over pudding layer. Cover and chill for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cocoa, if desired. Cut into 15 pieces.

Nutritional Information

Calories:268 (34% from fat)

Fat:10.2g (sat 6.3g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.7g)

Protein:5.2g

Carbohydrate:39.5g

Fiber:1.1g

Cholesterol:20mg

Iron:0.9mg

Sodium:183mg

Calcium:92mg

**This was an awesome, easy, "makeover" recipe from Cooking Light that I made last night. I think it was about 20 servings, so great for a crowd!

Aunt Liz's Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

This chicken spaghetti casserole is low and calories and can easily be made ahead. The recipe makes two casseroles so enjoy one for dinner and freeze the other for later. To prepare the frozen casserole, cover and bake for 55 minutes at 350°; uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Yield: 2 casseroles, 4 servings each (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
• 2 cups uncooked spaghetti noodles, broken into 2-inch pieces (about 7 ounces)
• 1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices celery
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (10.75-ounce) cans condensed 30% reduced-sodium 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine broth, salt, pepper, and soup in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add soup mixture to chicken mixture; toss. Divide mixture evenly between 2 (8-inch) square or (2-quart) baking dishes coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over each casserole. Cover with foil coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Calories:261 (27% from fat)

Fat:7.8g (sat 3.9g,mono 2.2g,poly 1.1g)

Protein:19g

Carbohydrate:28g

Fiber:2.1g

Cholesterol:47mg

Iron:1.8mg

Sodium:652mg

Calcium:134mg

**We love this recipe! Super quick and easy to make ahead of time if desired. I use shredded rotisserie chicken for an even speedier prep! And, if you need all servings at once, a 9x13 pan works well.