Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Best. Taquitos. Ever!

Recipe from Our Best Bites.

1/3 C. (3 oz.) cream cheese

1/4 C. green salsa

1 T. fresh lime juice

1/2 t. cumin

1 t. chili powder

1/2 t. onion powder

1/4 t. granulated garlic, or garlic powder

3 T. chopped cilantro

2 T. sliced green onions

2 C. shredded cooked chicken

1 C. grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas (flour tortillas would also work well)

cooking spray

kosher salt

Heat oven to 425 degrees. 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 garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

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

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 are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T. 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 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 miser 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.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, or guacamole.

My suggestions: A few things I did differently in this recipe:

• I used 1/2 C. cream cheese, instead of the called for 1/3 C., which made it more creamy, which is how I like it.
• I didn't have any cilantro, so I just omitted it. Next time I make these though, I would make sure to have some to add. I could tell that it was missing that flavor the cilantro adds to a dish.
• I omitted the green onions because, really, I'm not a fan of those. Not sure if it really even mattered.
• Used a generous cup of pepperjack cheese. I love cheese.
• You don't need kosher salt. I used normal table salt and it worked just fine.

I will never buy frozen taquitos again. They do not even compare to how yummy these homemade, baked taquitos taste!

Chicken Crescent Wreath

(recipe from Mountain View 8th Ward Relief Society cookbook)

2 (8 oz) tubes refrigerated crescent rolls

1 c. shredded Co-Jack cheese

2/3 c. condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1/2 c. fresh broccoli

1/2 c. chopped sweet red pepper

1/4 c. water chestnuts, chopped

1 (5 oz) can white chicken, drained or 3/4 c. chicken, cooked and cubed

2 T. onion, chopped

Arrange the crescent rolls on a 12-inch pizza pan, forming a ring with pointed ends facing the outer edge of pan and wide ends overlapping. Combine the remaining ingredients; spoon over wide ends of rolls. Fold points over filling and tuck under wide ends (filling will be visible). Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 6-8 servings.

My suggestions:

• I would use a can of Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup, instead of just the regular kind. The Healthy Request soup has 45% less sodium than the regular product, which is just what this recipe needs- less salt.
• Use the entire can of soup- for a couple of reasons: 1) it makes the dish creamier and less dry and 2) what else are you going to do with the leftover soup? It's better to use it in the recipe than just let it go to waste. :-)

Overall, this dish was so so SO tasty (minus the salt)! Two thumbs WAY up!

Chicken Sausage with Peppers & Basil

(recipe from Rival Crock-Pot)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 yellow onion, minced (1/3 cup)

1 pound sweet or hot Italian chicken sausage

1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes, drained and seeded

1/2 red pepper, julienned into 1/2-inch strips

1/2 yellow pepper, julienned into 1/2-inch strips

1/2 orange pepper, julienned into 1/2-inch strips

3/4 cup fresh basil

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Salt and black pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook until translucent.

2. Remove sausage from casing and cut into 1-inch chunks. Add to pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, until just beginning to brown. Transfer to crock-pot slow cooker with slotted spoon, skimming off some fat.

3. Add tomatoes, peppers, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper to crock-pot slow cooker and stir to blend. Cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until peppers have softened. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

My suggestions: Frankly, I have several. Where to start...

• a) I very much dislike cooking with whole tomatoes. Use diced tomatoes. Whole tomatoes make the entire dish look sloppy.
• b) Chicken sausage is weird. I would have substituted Italian Sausage instead to give the dish more flavor. Chicken sausage is bland and tastes EXACTLY like chicken, but with a sausage texture. Definitely not worth the $3.99/lb, which, by the way, I could only find at Sunflower Market.
• c) Any bell pepper that is not green, is a fairly expensive vegetable. You can find red peppers on sale for a good price, but yellow and orange peppers are a bit pricey. I bought a 3 pack of the peppers (orange, yellow, red) at Macey's for $5.00 which is usually cheaper than buying them individually.
• d) Fresh basil is hard to find! I was only able to locate it at Sunflower Market in PLANT form- you know, just in case I want to grow my own. I would have tried using dry basil leaves instead. Cheaper and probably do the same trick.
• e) Slow cooker time was WAY off...at least for me. I cooked it for 2 1/2 hours and the peppers and tomatoes looked wilted. Make sure to adjust your cooking time to the size of your crock-pot, which is something I should have done.

And if you're still thinking about making this dish after all that, here is my last suggestion...

• f) Don't waste your time. Really.