Baked Chicken Taquitos

             Baked Chicken Taquitos

For the most part, my kids eat healthily. They do eat cake. They do eat candy. They do eat cookies- all in moderation. The only time I ever went nuts about food was when my husband fed Max a hot dog! Max was around 2 at the time and he never ate a hot dog! To me, it doesn't get worse than that! It did get close, if not- equally bad, when Dave, the second time offender came home with frozen taquitos! This is why he is now banned from food shopping! Max loved them! I was horrified. He asked for them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I knew I had to figure out a way to create a healthier version.

Every recipe I came across had ingredients Max would not eat. I had to simplify. I came across a recipe on Pinterest that used egg roll wrappers and I thought that was ingenious! I took that portion of the recipe and thought of things Max liked to eat. He just started liking tacos with ground turkey. I figured if he liked tacos, why not use the ground turkey for the taquitos. I made my own low sodium taco seasoning following the recipe from Shrinking Kitchen and went to work.

Low Sodium Taco Seasoning

• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried onion
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and store them in an airtight container. If making your own is out of the question, Ortega makes a packet of 40% less sodium taco seasoning. For 1 pound of meat, use 3 tablespoons of seasoning.

What you need:

• 1 pound 99% fat free ground turkey
• 1 package of Nasoyo egg roll wrappers
• taco seasoning (homemade or packet)
• 3/4 cup of water
• 1 bag of shredded Mexican blend cheese (I use Sargento)
• 1 container of reduced fat sour cream (I swear by Breakstones) for dipping
• olive oil for brushing

 

What you need to do:

Preheat your oven for 375.

Brown the turkey meat on a medium flame.

When the meat is almost fully cooked, add in the taco seasoning and water.

Stir until fully mixed.

Bring to a boil then lower flame to a simmer.

Simmer until thickening occurs.

Add in 1 cup of the shredded cheese and mix until blended.

 

Line a baking pan with tin foil and spray with Pam.

Lay out the egg roll wrappers adding a spoonful of meat on one side. Make sure its even & not lumpy.

Before rolling, sprinkle a little more cheese over the meat.

Roll up.

Brush each taquito with olive oil. If you don't have a brush, you can use the back of a spoon.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

 

This makes approximately 20 taquitos. You can make them as thick or thin as you like! You can also make them with shredded chicken or steak!

 

Freeze remaining taquitos and reheat for a quick lunch!

 

I was thrilled when Max ate them! My version is much better for him and now I can feel good about feeding him one of his favorite foods.

 

 

 

He likes them! He really likes them!