Oven Baked Taquitos

Taquitos are such a great potluck item just cut them in half with kitchen scissors and serve with you're favorite dips. Kids love these and they can easily be frozen and reheated in the microwave or oven at 375F for 8-12 minutes. 

Makes 15-20 Taquitos

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, grated

1/2 cup prepared salsa

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

1/2 tsp taco seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

15-20 Corn tortillas, white or yellow

Non-stick spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Mix cheese with chicken and add sprinkle, salt and taco seasoning and mix well.

Wrap 10 tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave for 1 minute then start making the taquitos by spraying each tortilla on both sides with non-stick spray then put a small portion of the chicken mixture in a line in the middle and tightly roll up; repeat and place seem side down on the lined baking. Bake for 14-16 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

Cool for 6-10 minutes and serve with warm queso, guacamole or salsa and enjoy. :-)

 

Cheesy Spinach Rolls

Perfect party appetizer!

Ingredients:
1 bag of pre-washed baby spinach
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 egg+1 tablespoon water, beaten together in a small bowl.
1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 teaspoon grated, Romano cheese
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1 pinch freshly cracked black pepper
1 pinch kosher salt
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 dash of dried oregano
1 dash of dried basil
flour for the surface

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and have a strainer in the sink ready for spinach.

1. In a medium-sized pot add about 1 inch of water and heat to medium-high.
Once water starts to boil add in spinach and lemon juice, stir spinach while it wilts down.

2. Once spinach is dark green in color and has shrunk in size pour spinach into a strainer, rinse with cold water until spinach is cool to touch.

3. Place a bowl inside strainer and push down to drain water out of spinach get as much water out as possible you don't want soggy pastry. If it still has a lot of water put spinach between several layers of paper towels and squeeze tightly.

4. Mix together in a small bowl, cheeses, green onion, garlic, and all other seasonings with a spoon until combined.

5. Sprinkle a clean surface with flour, remove 1 puff pastry sheet out so the short end is facing you. Lightly brush pastry with egg wash.

6. Now, break up spinach into small pieces, evenly distribute over pastry and sprinkle the cheese mixture evenly over spinach.

7. Next, carefully lift the short edge closest to you, fold forward like a jelly roll, freeze for 15 minutes It will make the roll much easier to slice.

8. After 15 minutes have passed. Using a sharp knife, cut into 20 1/2 inch pieces. Place rolls onto two baking sheets, brush with egg wash, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, cheese should be bubbly and pastry should be golden brown in color.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes, if you can wait that long. :)

Yummy!

Baked Chicken Nuggets

Chicken nuggets! A kid favorite, and so easy to reheat for a quick and healthy lunch. If you do not have a food processor, just blend the onion and garlic together and then mix it with 3/4 lb of ground chicken and additional ingredients. Freezing** instructions below.

Makes about 60 1-inch chicken nuggets

Ingredients:
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 a small yellow onion, skin removed
3 boneless skinless chicken breast, or ground chicken breasts, if you do not have a food processor
1/2 teaspoon creole seasoning
couple dashes of valentina hot sauce or any mild hot sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup bread crumbs
2 cups panko Japanese bread crumbs

dash of salt to the bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Food processor

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix bread crumbs with parmesan, dash of salt and panko together in a shallow dish, beat eggs and milk in a shallow dish, and place flour in another dish.

1. To a food processor add onion and garlic, pulse until the onion is no longer chunky. Add in chicken, salt, pepper, hot sauce and creole seasoning. Grind together for 1 minute or until everything is combined and is a paste.

2. Drop tablespoonfuls of chicken mixture into the flour, flip over to completely covered with flour. Next dredge  in egg and milk mixture turn to cover using a spoon and a fork until completely covered. Finally roll in panko bread crumb mixture and turn to coat completely and place onto parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the chicken and bake for 20 minutes.

Be careful when eating nuggets, let cool the inside will be very hot. Serve with desired dipping sauce, I like sweet chili sauce with my nuggets.

**Freezing Instructions: To freeze chicken nuggets, let cool on baking sheets then transfer to wax paper lined baking sheets and freeze for 45 minutes, then move nuggets to ziplock freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat nuggets place nuggets on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees F.**

Chicken Flautas

What a simple yet so delicious dish this is. Everyone enjoys flautas, doesn't matter the age or background. Have a potluck and everyone can help shred the chicken and roll them up. There are plenty of options for dips but they don't really even need anything else, these can also be frozen* and reheated in just a few minutes for a quick snack.

Ingredients:

For chicken:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (can also use a store bought rotisserie chicken, I prefer my own seasoning)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon spice blend

kosher salt and black pepper to taste

For frying:

36 taco size yellow corn tortillas

peanut oil for frying (enough to fill a pot about 2 1/2 - 3 inches deep)

tooth picks

Directions: preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a roasting pan with aluminum foil.

1. Place chicken breasts in the roasting pan and brush chicken generously with olive oil, coating both sides. 

2. Next season with salt, pepper, and spice blend. Bake for 30 minutes, until juices run clear. Loosely cover chicken breasts with aluminum foil to keep the meat juicy, let it rest for 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a 5qt dutch oven until a thermometer registers to 350 degrees F.

3. Once the chicken has rested shred it using two forks, one stuck in the meat to keep it in place and the other pulling away to tear into strips, do this to all the chicken.

4. To the hot oil add a corn tortilla let it cook for only 5-10 seconds and turn quickly for another 5 seconds, (this makes the tortilla pliable) transfer to paper towels to drain for about a minute. Then, sprinkle some chicken shreds in the center of the tortilla and roll the chicken up tightly inside the tortilla, use a toothpick to pierce and secure the flauta to ensure filling stays inside. Return the filled tortilla to the oil and turn to cook all sides, once the tortilla has a golden crunchy shell, remove from oil and transfer to paper towels to drain again. Repeat with the rest of the filling. 

 Serve with queso, bean dip, guacamole or alongside beans and rice.

BE CAREFUL IT WILL BE HOT, LET THEM COOL FOR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE EATING.

To reheat, bake in a 400 degrees F oven for about 7 minutes.

**Freezing instructions: after the flautas are cooked, place on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes, then transfer to a ziplock freezer bag. To reheat flautas place on a baking sheet and bake in a 450 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, until golden and crispy**  

Enchilada Meatballs

These meatballs are seriously addicting! Full of enchilada flavor all in a meatball, both kids and adults love these and you can also make extra for freezing.**

 Makes 44 1 inch meatballs

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef or turkey

1/2 of one medium sized onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup of cheddar cheese, divided

3 cups enchilada sauce, set 2 cups to the side

1/2 teaspoon 8 spice blend

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Corn bread ingredients:

1 package of Jiffy corn muffin mix

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

2 teaspoons taco seasoning

Corn bread directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

1. Mix together all corn bread ingredients until well combined (there will be some little lumps.)

2. Pour into a greased baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Crumble and set aside.

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.

2.Mix all meatball ingredients including crumbled corn bread, half of the cheese, and 1 cup of enchilada sauce, mash together using you're hands works best.

2. Shape meat into 44 1-inch sized meatballs and place 1/2 an inch apart on the foil lined sheet. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until the center of the meatballs is no longer pink.

3. Reheat the remaining 2 cups of enchilada sauce and top the meatballs with remaining cheese. 

Serve with toothpicks along side enchilada sauce.

** Freezing and reheating instructions**

Freeze meatballs on a baking sheet and after 1 hour place them into a freezer ziplock bag and they will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat them just put them in your crockpot with more enchilada sauce and put on low for 2-3 hours or on high for about 1 hour.

Before baking.

EASY Tuna Ceviche

Ceviche is typically made with raw seafood and is refrigerated in lime or lemon juice to "cook" the fish with the acidity, but my version of ceviche I use canned tuna and I adding celery to give it that extra crunch! Eat your ceviche with tortilla chips or plantain chips.

Ingredients:

2 cans of solid white tuna, drained and chopped

2 medium sized tomatoes, diced

1/2 of a medium sized onion, diced

1/2 a stalk of celery, finely chopped

1 jalapeno, finely chopped and seeded

1 garlic clove, minced

juice from 2 lemons

a small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. To a blender add in tomatoes, onion, and jalapeno, blend to desired consistency.**

2. Mix all ingredients together, cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes. (This really brings out all of the flavors.)

Serve with tortilla chips or plantain chips

** If you want a chunky ceviche skip the blending step and mix all the ingredients together**

Garlic Lime Shrimp

Grilling shrimp is my favorite way to eat it. The smoke really adds character to the dish.

Ingredients:

10 large shrimp, deveined and peeled with tails left on

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon Rebecca's 8 spice blend 

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

juice from 1 lime
salt to taste

wooden skewers soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

Directions:
1. To a freezer ziplock bag add garlic, spice, salt, sugar and vegetable oil and shrimp; close bag and move around to coat completely. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to 1 hour.

2. skewer shrimp and squeeze lime juice over them, grease the grill grate and lay down skewers on the grill and cover. Check back frequently, they cook up very fast. Turn to cook the other side, they turn pink and curl when they are completely cooked.

Bacon n' Spinach Quiche Cupcakes

 Quiche is such a versatile dish, and easy for freezing and reheating later. Great to eat for breakfast, lunch and even dinner. Change up the veggies and meats and you have endless possibilities.
**Freezing instructions at the bottom of the page.**

Makes 16 cupcake sized quiche

Ingredients:

1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

1cup Swiss cheese, grated

6 large eggs

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 10oz package of chopped spinach, thawed and drained

12 slices of cooked bacon, chopped

2 refrigerated pie crust, at room temp

1 teaspoon olive oil

pinch of salt and pepper

pinch of paprika

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. On medium heat; heat olive oil in a small skillet and add in onion, once it is soft and transparent add in garlic and cook for 1 minute, remove from heat and set aside.

2. To a blender, add eggs, cream, salt, pepper, and paprika, blend until eggs are beaten.

3. Using a 3in biscuit cutter or glass cut 18 circles out of the pie crust, spray cupcake tins with nonstick cooking spray and place one circle in each tin and press it down so the dough fits about a third of the way up.

4. Start layering on the fillings, add a small pinch of garlic and onion, then about 1/2 teaspoon of bacon pieces, pinch of spinach and about a teaspoon of cheese mixture to each tin. Then pour the egg and cream mixture into every tin almost to the top. 

5. Bake for 20 minutes. Quiche is done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean, run a sharp knife around the edges and let cool for 2 minutes then use a small spoon to scoop out the little quiche's.

**Freezing instructions: Once they have cooled wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then put them in a freezer bag and they will be good in the freezer for 3 months. Great for a quick after school/work snack or even breakfast or dinner. To reheat them straight from the freezer just preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake them on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes, they should look puffy and golden. Be careful they will be HOT. Enjoy :)**

 Pie crust.

Onion, garlic and bacon.

Spinach.

Hot out of the oven!

Sweet n' Spicy Shrimp

 This shrimp is great for shrimp tacos or just plain with a few side dishes it can be a full meal.

 

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons Rebecca's 8 Spice Blend

1 teaspoon sugar

pinch of salt

8 large shrimps deviened, shelled with tails left on

1 tablespoon oil

Directions:

1. Mix spice blend with sugar and salt, toss shrimp in seasoning.

2.Heat oil  to medium heat in a medium-sized skillet add shrimps to pan. The shrimps cook very quickly so keep checking the other side, they are done when they curl and are pink in color.

*The shrimp can be skewered and grilled, but make sure you soak the bamboo skewers for at least 30 minutes before putting on the grill.*

Sweet Sausage n' Cheese Kolaches aka Pigs in a Blanket

 Kolaches are definitely a staple in Texas doughnut shops, there are so many varieties of these sweet bread snacks. They can also be frozen* for a quick snack or breakfast.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted
1/2 cup warm water
2 packages of yeast
2 eggs beaten
5 cups all purpose flour
1 package cocktail weenies (any variety, I use cheese filled)
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

1. Heat milk, sugar, salt, and butter until sugar and salt is dissolved. Set aside to cool till lukewarm.

2. In a small bowl mix warm water and yeast until well combined, cover with a towel and let rest for 5 minutes.

3. In a large bowl combine milk mixture with yeast and water mix, to that add in beaten eggs and whisk till smooth; add flour in 3 additions mixing well after each addition. Turn dough out onto a floured surface.

4. Knead dough until it is no longer sticky and is elastic. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Let rest in a warm place until dough has doubled in size (about 1 hour).

5. Divide dough into 32 balls, roll out into circles about 3-4 inches in diameter.

6. Place a pinch of cheese in the center of each dough circle, then 1 sausage. Fold like a burrito.

7. Transfer to kolaches to the parchment lined baking sheet, brush the tops with melted butter and bake for 5 minutes, brush the kolaches with butter again and return to baking for 5 more minutes they should be a golden brown, let them cool for 10 minutes.

Cheese. Sausage.

Fold.

Roll.

Cool.

EAT!

*Freezing Instructions: Once cooled, wrap kolaches individually in plastic wrap. Freeze in a freezer ziplock bag for up to 3 months. Great for a quick snack or breakfast, just unwrap and microwave for about 2 minutes a kolache.*