Baked Taquitos

I've tried to make fried taquitos before, but all I got was a mess and a half. So when I saw the idea for baked taquitos at For the Love of Cooking I knew I had to try it. Unfortunately, since I'm in the first trimester of my pregnancy, I could only stomach cooking chicken. I was really craving shredded beef taquitos, but the chicken was still good! If you want an exact recipe- sorry, I don't have one. But you can go to the link above and she has one for pork and beef taquitos.

Baked Taquitos
cooked chicken, shredded (I seasoned mine with a packet of quacamole seasoning- I didn't have any taco seasoning and was being lazy- a can of tomato sauce, and a little bit of lemon juice then baked the chicken at 375 F until done and then shredded it)
small can of diced green chiles
shredded cheese
tortillas (I used flour- so I guess these are technically floutas, huh?)

Preheat your oven to 425 F. Combine the green chiles with the cooked chicken (you don't have to use the whole can of chiles if you don't want to) and warm the tortillas in the microwave (wrap them in a paper towel and microwave for 1-2 minutes). Assemble the taquitos by placing some chicken and some cheese in a row towards the outer edge of the tortillas and then by rolling the tortilla up tightly. Place rolled taquitos seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 5-6 minutes, flip, and bake another 5-6 minutes or until the tortillas are crisp and lightly browned.

Granola

Granola and yogurt is one of my favorite snacks and breakfasts. So when my husband and I talked about eating breakfast more consistently I thought I'd try to make my own granola and it was GREAT! I made mine plain because that's how I like it, but it you could also add dried fruit, nuts, and seeds to make it more nutritious. This recipe came from an old ward cookbook and was submitted by Janice Edwards. Another plus to making this recipe is that the molasses made my kitchen smell like I was baking gingerbread cookies! It was heavenly!

Granola

4 cups rolled oats or rolled grains (I used quick oats)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oil (I used vegatable)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together. Bake 10 minutes on a greased cookie sheet at 325 F. Stir and bake 10 more minutes. Add raisins, dried fruit, chopped nuts, or flax seed to taste after the grains have finished baking.

Mexican Rice Casserole

I found this recipe at For the Love of Cooking and decided to try it because the ingredients were very economical and it looked yummy. This recipe is also very forgiving, as it allows you a lot of room to play with it. For example, I can't make anything too spicy or else my husband won't eat very much leaving me with lots of leftovers to eat all by myself. So I added half of the red pepper flakes, and instead of using spicy tomato sauce, I used mild salsa. If you wanted to make it even more economical, you could omit the ground beef. (Honestly, I couldn't really even tell it was in the recipe. If you do this, just season the beans with the seasoning instead.) This was really good, however, and I served it with cornbread and salad. It was also filling. I made a whole batch this time around, and my husband and I only ate 1/4 of it. Next time I'll probably do a half recipe to have some for dinner and then a little left over instead of most of a pan.

Mexican Rice Casserole

1 1/2 cups of white rice, prepared per instructions

1 tsp of olive oil

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp paprika***

1 tsp chili powder***

1 tsp dried cumin***

1 tsp garlic powder***

1 tsp dried oregano***

1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes***

salt and pepper, to taste

1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed (I made my own)

1 8 oz can of tomato sauce

1 8 oz can of spicy tomato sauce (such as El Pato- or you could use 1 cup of salsa)

3-4 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (divided) (I didn't use this)

1-2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

3-4 tomatoes, sliced thickly (I didn't use these either. I'm not a huge fan of large tomato chunks)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare rice per instructions. While the rice is cooking heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the ground beef, making sure to break it up into crumbles. Cook the beef for 3-4 minutes then add the diced onion and all of the seasonings. Stir until well combined and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the beef is cooked through and the onion is tender. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly for an additional 60 seconds. Add the cooked rice, drained and rinsed black beans, tomato sauce and a bit of cilantro (reserving some for garnishing) to the beef and onion mixture. Mix the ingredients thoroughly, taste and re-season if needed.

Coat a large baking dish with cooking spray and pour the rice mixture into the dish, spreading it evenly. Place the tomato slices on top of the rice mixture then top with cheddar cheese.

Spray a piece of tin foil with cooking spray (so the cheese won't stick) and cover the baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes (at 350 F) then remove the tin foil. Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing. Top with a dollop of sour cream and the remaining chopped cilantro. Enjoy.

***Or you can use 1 packet of taco seasoning instead of individual spices.