So Good It'll Make You Wanna Slap Yer Granny!

I don't know why I had to title the post that, but I just did.  A woman I love dearly says that and it makes me smile every time.  And this recipe definitely qualifies.

Definitely.

Clean Chicken Taquitos and Fresh Pico De Gallo.

Is your mouth watering just reading the title of the recipe?  It should be.  Unless it's early in the morning.  Then your mouth might not be watering.  Your eyes?  Yes.  Mouth?  Maybe not.

So let's pretend it's afternoon and you're asking yourself, "What will I feed the fam?"   Well, I've got you covered!

As I mentioned recently, we have begun to eat clean.  Well, I'm eating clean.  The family is eating clean-ish.  But they all loved this one.  Except Princess Picky-Pants.  She didn't even try it.  But her idea of delicious is ravioli from a can.  (ICK!  Totally not clean.  But a treat she does enjoy from time to time, much to my chagrin!)

These were so good that I actually jumped up after dinner AND MADE ANOTHER BATCH.  To freeze.  Yes, they were that good.  I don't know about you, but making a second dinner after cooking and eating the first isn't on my top 10 list of "faves."  Neither is cleaning up after cooking, but that's another story...  

You'll have to excuse the lack of photos.  I was in a cooking frenzy and we ate these before I even thought to shoot a photo or two.  And when I tried to shoot photos of the second batch of taquitos,  it was too dark in the kitchen.  And I think I had every single pan, bowl, and measuring utensil I own on the counters.  So, I  borrowed some images from Google.  I noticed the same photos on several blogs/websites and I'm not sure who to give credit to.  If these are your images, I'm sorry I didn't give you proper credit.  But your pictures?  Yum!  These look remarkably like what I made.  I love it when that happens.  

Okay.  Enough chasing rabbits.  Let's get to the recipe, shall we?

Taquitos:

(taquito recipe adapted from The Gracious Pantry)

Makes 12 taquitos

12 Clean Corn Tortillas (I used Food for Life brand)

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 jar Clean salsa

2 Tbs. Onion Powder

1 1/2 Tbs. Garlic Powder

1/2 Tbs. Garlic Salt

Pico De Gallo:

(No ingredient amounts are given because you can make as much or as little of this Pico as you’d like, and you can vary the different ingredients to get the taste you enjoy.  Also remember to taste and season to your preference.)

plum tomatoes

yellow onion

fresh cilantro

jalepeno

garlic powder

course salt

lime juice

Directions:

1. Place chicken breasts and salsa in a crock pot and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 4-5 hours. (This is called Salsa Chicken in our house and some evenings we eat it straight from the pot like this.  But not this night!) 
2. Preheat oven to 400º.
3. Remove chicken from crock pot and shred.  Return to crock pot and stir to incorporate all the salsa juices into the shredded chicken.
4. Wrap tortillas in a wet paper towel and warm in the microwave until very pliable. 
5. Put chicken in a food processor and add garlic powder, garlic salt, and onion powder.  Process until a “dough” is created.  If the mixture is too dry, add a bit of the salsa juice from the crock pot.
6. Take a warm tortilla, add a bit of chicken mixture, and roll.  
7. Place in a well misted (with an oil mister/sprayer) pan.  
8. Continue to stuff and roll until all the tortillas are filled.
9. Spray rolled tortillas with an oil mister.  This is where the crunch will come from!
10. Bake at 400º for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy.
11. Serve with fresh Pico De Gallo.  I also served it with the Pico mixed into a mashed avocado as a fresh guacamole.
12. Enjoy!