Chicken Taquitos

Let's start by admitting that husband loves Tabasco, I love pearls and we cannot live without Mexican food. I'm not sure how two rednecks from Alabama love Mexican food so much, but we really do. These chicken taquitos were awesome!

On a similar note, today was an interesting day (mostly because I was on a cleaning kick...insert laughter). After cleaning out the refrigerator and subsequently clogging the disposal, I was feeling pretty sheepish. I was hoping this new recipe would be a hit and boost my spirits. It did just that! A win in the kitchen, is a win overall (and husband fixed the disposal). Just for clarification, in case there were any doubts, you just can't go wrong with Mexican food in this house!

Chicken Taquitos

~1.5 lbs. chicken, use what you have (I used 4 chicken thighs with bones and skin)
1/2 can beer
flour tortillas, burrito size
olive oil or cooking spray
3 cups fresh spinach
4 small jalapenos, minced
1 cup pepper jack cheese, grated
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
couple dashes of Tabasco
salsa or taco sauce for dipping

If you have leftover cooked chicken or cheated and bought a rotisserie chicken (I won't tell) then ignore these instructions below and proceed to the assembly portion.

I cooked my chicken in the oven. You could also boil it. Preheat oven to 350 and arrange chicken in a dish. Pour the beer around the chicken.

Cover and bake for about 45 minutes or until done. While the chicken is cooking, mince your jalapenos. We had fresh home grown jalapenos on hand from our back yard plants. Growing stuff is fun!! So anyways, we removed the seeds and used our food processor to mince them.

When the chicken is done, remove the skin and shred the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a medium bowl and add the spices and Tabasco. Reserve ~1/4 cup of beer/chicken liquid. If you had precooked chicken, you could just use some chicken broth.

Add the reserved beer/chicken liquid to a skillet on medium-low heat. Now add your spinach and jalapenos. Cook until the spinach is mostly wilted and turn off heat.

(spinach is not wilted all the way in this photo)

Now it's assembly time. Turn the oven up to 400. Cut the tortillas in half. Along the straight edge add the chicken, top with some cheese and then add a healthy amount of the spinach/jalapeno mixture. Roll it up starting with the straight edge and place in a greased dish. Continue until you run out of ingredients. Brush the tops with a small amount of olive oil. We ended up with six taquitos. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is melted.

I served this with spanish rice. Husband drizzled Tabasco on top of his and ate 2. I ate one and dipped mine in a little taco sauce. We both commented that it turned out really great!

Notes: This dish can take some time to prep, but it is definitely yummy!!! Will make again!