Dinner Time!

Yesterday I made cilantro lime rice, chicken taquitos, and homemade guac and salsa for dinner! It was so good that I'm sharing the recipes!



Cilantro Lime Rice:

2 TBS butter
1 1/4 C. Rice (i used instant rice and it worked great)
1 large or 2 small limes
2 1/4 C. chicken broth
2 TBS chopped cilantro
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 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.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos:

1/3 C. (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C. green salsa
1 TBS fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp granulated garlic or garlic powder
3 TBS chopped cilantro
2 TBS sliced green onions
2 C. shredded cooked chicken
1 C. graded pepper jack cheese
About 16 small corn or flour tortillas

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

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

Place 2 - 3 TBS of chicken mixture on 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. Spray the tops lightly with some cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15 - 20 minutes until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. Makes around 16 taquitos.

Salsa:

I don't use a recipe to make salsa, but here's the ingredients I use:

Diced tomatoes (I usually do a mixture of fresh and canned, because I like the extra juice from the can. But if you want more of a pico de gallo, use fresh.)
Green onions
jalapenos (use the seeds if you want it to be hotter)
cilantro
minced garlic
lime juice

Chunky Guacamole (I got this recipe out of the costco magazine)

1 medium tomato, finely diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 small red onion, finely diced (about 3 TBS)
1/2 C. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
3 TBS fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
2 large hass avocados (I used 3)

In medium bowl, toss the tomato with the onion, cilantro, lime juice, red pepper flakes and 1 tsp salt, and let sit for about 5 minutes.

Add the avocado and gently mash it into the tomato mixture with a fork. Serve immediately.

(I also used green onions instead of red, because that's what I had, and it was really good!)



And here's the finished plate!