The Nice Kitchen Recipes: Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Alright, so I know that I just posted a really delicious recipe that I had tried at my house the other day! But this next one is going to blow.your.mind. Seriously! I don't know about you, but I really do love me some Mexican food. Like LOVE it. So, in our families quest for being healthy I have been trying so many low fat recipes!

This one is going to be your new fav! And best of all, its really not all that complicated! Which to me is really important. You can actually make these bad boys and stick them in the freezer, and then just bake them in the over for a super quick and easy and HEALTHY dinner meal! Perfect right??

So here it is!

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Source: penniesonaplatter.com via Arielle on Pinterest

3 ounces low-fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup green salsa
1 TBSP fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder (I actually omitted this, because I do.not.like onion powder)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 TBSP chopped cilantro (I also used parsley instead)
2 TBSP chopped green onions
2 cups shredded chicken breasts
1 cup shredded Mexican flavored cheese
12 small flour tortillas (I used medium ones and actually cut them in half)
cooking spray

**Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

**In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic. Once combined stir in the cilantro (or parsley) and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese and mix thoroughly.

**You can prep the mixture and put it in the refrigerator at this point.
**Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll as tight as possible.

**Placed the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone. Make sure the taquitos are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray.

**Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden.

**Serve with some red salsa on the side! Yummy!!

**To freeze, before baking flash freeze the taquitos in a single layer on a baking sheet and then place them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months! To bake, no need to thaw, just preheat oven and place them on a cookie sheet and place them in the oven for 20 minutes.

**calories for 2 taquito halves: 215

Source: Adapted from Our Best Bites.

Hope you all try this and enjoy this recipe! It really is as good as it sounds!

Jackie Nice

Waitin' On A Baby

This topic is such an exciting one for me and my husband:) Now, it's not quite what you think. I love babies. And I mean LOVE. I have been babysitting since I was super young, worked with the toddler rooms at my church, and am basically addicted to all my cousin's babies! There is just something special about their little lives:)

Kevin and I are pretty young, 21 and 22. We are both also in school working on our bachelors degrees. And as of right now we aren't 'financially stable' to be able to bring a baby into the world. However, all of these reasons still don't stop me from daydreaming about what our little Nice Baby will be like, what they will look like and when they will get here!

Kevin and I are both really realistic people, which means that when we do decide to start trying for a baby we want to have several goals already accomplished in our life. We want to have our own home, be financially stable, and one of the most important things to me is to have had some husband/wife time!

Once a baby comes into your family there is no going back! And believe me you, I can.not.wait for that time to come! However, I have always said this in my relationship with Kevin, and he totally agrees that we want several years just to ourselves! We want to be able to focus on each other and get some quality time with each other, which I think is a really important factor in our marriage. I want to be able to look back at our lives and talk about all the fun memories that he and I had at the beginning of our marriage:)

So far, so good:) We have been married for 7 months yesterday! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. Seriously! 7 whole months!! So even though I get impatient about wanting a baby now, and wanting to start planning out our nursery, and picking color schemes, and baby names (we actually have several already picked out, ha!) I know that it is really best that we take this time to ourselves. It is really the only time in our lives that we have to be truly selfish!!

So, in the meantime I don't mind pinning a few fun pictures of what and how I think our Nice Baby will be dressed/photographed/announced!

Source: Uploaded by user via Jackie on Pinterest

Source: aedriel.blogspot.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Source: themcclenahans.blogspot.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Source: sookiesaysblog.blogspot.com via Jackie on Pinterest

I just can't help it sometimes! It doesn't hurt to dream!!


Jackie Nice

The Nice Kitchen Recipes: Loaded Potato Soup

SO! Since our return from Washington last week, Kevin and I have been on a quest to be healthier. We both have been wanting to really start getting healthier, and during the holidays just wasn't in the cards for us. I am actually really happy at the great changes we have made already! I am so in love with cooking, always have, always will, but because of that I love trying new recipes and yummy desserts. Now I have switched to making low cal/ low fat things to fit in with our new lifestyle!

I jumped on the bandwagon and joined MyFitnessPal after I got my iPhone! If you don't know what it is, its an app that is basically this great forum for tracking the calories that you are eating while also getting some great support from friends!! I've only been really tracking for about a week now, so if your already on or joining soon then friend me!! My username is jnice618.

Anyway, back to the main reason for this post. Last night I made the most amazing soup!! Now, I am actually not a huge soup person. It just doesn't really do anything for me, but this recipe looked yummy, and seemed to fit in with a Sunday football game day. So here is the recipe!

The recipe is from skinnytaste.com (which is such a great website I have used for a while for all sorts of recipes!) You can find the recipe here.

I made a few changes to the recipe, and it turned out great!

Baked Potato Soup

2 russet potatoes, washed and dried
1 small cauliflower head, cut into florets
1 1/2 cups fat free chicken broth
1 1/2 cups skim milk
salt and fresh cracked pepper
1/2 cup light sour cream
10 tablespoons reduced-fat cheddar cheese (I used a mexican blend that I already had)
6 tablespoons chopped chives (I used green onions, plus I used extra for on top)
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used turkey bacon and it was really yummy!)

**Pierce the potatoes with a fork, and cook in the microwave until tender. You can also cook them in the oven if you prefer. Peel.

**Meanwhile, steam the cauliflower in a large pot with water. Steam until tender. Drain and return to the pot. Add the potato, chicken broth, and milk and bring to a boil. Use an immersion blender and blend until smooth (OR you can just transfer to a food processor like I did and do the same thing, then return to the pot.)

**Add sour cream, chives or green onions, salt and pepper and cook on low for 5-10 minutes.

**Remove from heat. Place 1 cup in bowl and top with cheese, bacon and green onions.

**Enjoy!!

This recipe serves 5, and has only 207 calories per 1 cup or serving! It was soo yummy!! And even if you think that you won't like the cauliflower, you really don't even taste it! It really does taste like a potato soup. I also served the serving with a light Cesar salad mix. So it was a soup and salad meal and Kevin and I were both really satisfied.

I really enjoy cooking and baking and even thought once about starting a blog purely devoted to this aspect of my life, but I think that sharing every now and then these really yummy recipes that I have made it perfect!!

Enjoy the rest of this three day weekend!!

Jackie Nice

NYE Recap!

I am sooo behind on this post, but I thought, it's still January right? So, here it is. Kevin and I rang in the new year at my Noni's house with all my cousins. This has been a tradition since I was like 10 years old! All the cousins in my family spend the night at my Noni's house and we have yummy food, and have lots of fireworks/silly string/loud music makers, and stay up really late talking the night away, and play lots of fun games and... well you get the idea. I'll let the pictures do the talking! Pictures are always my favorite. Also, I just got my iPhone for Christmas so I am OBSESSED with instagram and use it whenever I can! Ha!

The super yummy 7 layer dip I made! So so good!!

I just can't help it:)

Oh Papa!

The morning after!

We all had a great great time! I would have to say this was one of the most fun NYE's that we have had! My Noni made chocolate chip pancakes, sausage and bacon for breakfast the next morning and we hung out there until mid-afternoon until Kevin and I left. We decided to take a quick detour home and drive down West Cliff and this is the sunset/view we had the whole drive.

Isn't it just gorgeous! The first sunset of 2012, and it was breathtaking! This is one of my favorite places in Santa Cruz! Always a gorgeous view! So, there it is, how we rang in the new year! Can you believe that January is already almost halfway over?? I really can't! Kevin and I were talking about plans for our 1 year wedding anniversary already! It seriously seems as if we were just married yesterday!! 2012 has been good to us thus far, and we are really looking forward to the rest!!

Jackie Nice

Getting to Know Us!

Since I'm still really 'new' at this whole blogging thing- I thought what better way to get to know me than with a little survey! So, I haven't listed anything about how my husband and I met yet, so here is a little teaser!

1. What are your middle names?

Mine is Michael (after my daddy), and his Russell.

 2. How long have you been together?

We have been together for 4 years and 1 month! And we have been married for almost 7 months:)

  3. How long did you know each other before you started dating?

Well, this is sort of a long story. I knew Kevin for about 4 months before we started dating the '1st time.' However, we didn't stay together long (we were 15/16). Then two years later we started dating 'for real' and have been together ever since.

4. Who asked who out?

I technically asked Kevin to my junior prom 1st (he is a year younger), but after that he asked me to be his girlfriend. Then two years later he asked me out several times:)

5. How old are each of you?

I am 22, and Kevin is 21.

6. Did you go to the same school?

 We went to the same high school, community college, and now the same University.

 7. Are you from the same home town?

 No. Kevin was born in Pennsylvania, grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, moved again to Arizona and then to California where we met! I was born and raised in Scotts Valley, California.

8. Who is the smartest?

I would definetly say we are both pretty smart *she says modestly* however, I have to try at it more, with studying/research/reading while Kevin is more naturally smart.

9. Who majored in what?

 I am currently majored in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Elementary Education and he is majored in Business Managment.

10. Who is the most sensitive?

 BY FAR I am. I cry so easily over the stupidest things, but he knows how to soothe me:)

11. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?

I hadn't traveled really anywhere before we started dating/married. We have been to Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Florida and Hawaii together:)

Las Veags for my 21st birthday

Lake Tahoe

DisneyWorld in Florida

At a luau in Maui!

12. Who has the worst temper?

I don't think either of us has a real 'temper.' I would say we get annoyed/frustrated more than angry.

13. How many children do you want?

I would like 6 children. What can I say I would love a big family!! However, Kevin (the more 'realist') wants between 2 and 3. 

14. Who does the cooking?

I do! I went to culinary school for 2 years, and have had a love for cooking and baking since I was about 6 so I am always in the kitchen. However, Kevin is a really talented cook when I let him in the kitchen. I will admit that I am a tad controlling when it comes to the kitchen and dinners.

15. Who is more social?

I would say Kevin is way more outgoing with people we don't know, however around my/his/our friends I would say we are both pretty social. I don't necessarily do well with meeting people I don't know very well, but it's something I'm working on.

16. Who is the neat freak?

We both are. I like to have a clean/neat house at all times, even thought that isn't always a reality. If we are in a hurry we don't worry about being super neat, but when we are around the house a lot I make sure to pick up.

17. Who is the most stubborn?

 I don't think either of us are that stubborn. Or maybe I am, but I don't just realize it because Kevin is so laid back?

18. Who wakes up earlier?

 Ha, funny question. Right now Kevin is working nights, so he sleeps from about 7:30am-2:30/3pm. While I sleep like a normal human being and get up around 8:30/9am. Once the school semester starts, Kevin has a early morning class so he will be getting/staying up earlier.

19. Where was your first date?

 Awww, our first date:) Our first first first date was my Junior prom in 2006 at the Dolce Hayes Mansion in San Jose, CA. This is also the hotel that we went to on our wedding night;) But, our other first date was at a local beach called 26 beach in Santa Cruz, laying on a blanket watching the sun set, then watching the starts come out and talking. SO romantic:)

20. Who has the bigger family?

 I DO! I am really close with them also. My family also lives in the same general area, while Kevin's family lives all over the US.

21. Do you get flowers often?

I love getting flowers! Some people don't see the point because they just 'die' but I think its so romantic and its more than just a plant to me. Its a way of Kevin telling me that he loves me and is thinking about me. I would say that I get flowers several times a year, some for anniversaries/birthdays and some for no reason at all!

22.How do you spend the holidays?

Kevin's family recently moved away from California, but befrore they moved and almost the whole time that we were dating we had holdiays together. Our families live right down the road from one antoher and got along really well so for most major holidays we did it all together. It ended up working out really well. Since my in-laws have moved to Washington, we try to split up holdiays the best that we can.

23. Who is more jealous?

Kevin for sure. I actually don't have a jealous bone in my body (not kidding). I just don't have that personality. Kevin on the other hand would be the jealous one.

24. How long did it take to get serious?

After we had known each other for 2 years, it took about a month to really get serious. I always tell everyone that once Kevin and I started dating in 2007, I never ever imagined us being apart. Ever:)

25. Who eats more?

Kevin, the football player does. I don't know where he puts it sometimes.

26. What do you do for a living?

Right now, I am nanny and he is working at Safeway but we are also both going to school full time.

27. Who does the laundry?

I would say we do it 50/50. I would much rather fold/put away than actually do the laundry washing.

28. Who’s better with the computer?

Um..I think Kevin?

29. Who drives when you’re together?

 Kevin does! And it makes me really happy:)

30. What is your song?

Forever, and Ever Amen- Randy Travis <3 <3

Hope you enjoyed all that!! I have a whole list of posts to get done, with more of a 'get to know me' theme!

Jackie Nice

2011 Recap!!

I really wanted to do a recap of 2011 since I saw so many other fun blogs doing the same thing! So even though it is technically 2012, better late than never right?? I hadn't started "blogging" until mid 2011, and alot of big things happened this year! I want to hit most of the major events that happened but this list is by no means all of them! It was such a great year for me!!

January:

Last new years eve, Kevin and I rang in the new year with my cousins at my Noni's (grandma's) house, which my family has been doing since I was 10! It is always such  fun time

Kevin and I attended an Engagement Encounter Weekend, which was basically a pre-marital counseling weekend for engaged couples! It was really long, but such an incredible blessing! We learned so much about our relationship!

We had several wedding cake tastings, as well as wedding food tastings! Such a fun part of the wedding planning experience! We ended up completely falling in love with one catering company, and it ended up being a huge hit at our wedding!!

February

We celebrated our one and only engaged Valentines Day! Such fun memories!

March

We took our 1st set of engagement pics!!

We traveled to Washington state during our spring break to see where Kevin's family would be moving to in July! Such a fun trip!! We toured Seattle, visited the Space Needle and had lots of fun.

April

I celebrated my 22nd birthday!!

I had an UH-mazing bridal shower that I will never forget! Such a cherished time with friends and family who love Kevin and I!!

***But my friend still has all the pictures from it!***

May

Friends helped me celebrate with my Bachlorette Party weekend in Tahoe!

Started apartment hunting!!


June

Kevin turned 21 baby!!

We took our 2nd set of engagement picture with the photographer who would be shooting our wedding!! A football themed session to honor my sweet husband and his love of the game.

We rehearsed for the big day! Then had a very special rehearsal dinner with everyone who loved us!

WE GOT MARRIED!!! After months of planning we finally made it down the isle and said I DO!!

We Honeymoon'd in Maui for 7 wonderful, magical, romantic, relaxing days.

Kept apartment hunting!!

August

We moved into our first place!! We found the perfect little cozy place to start our lives together!

September

We started San Jose State University together in a hurry to finish our degrees!!

October

I started really decorating our apartment!

November

We celebrated our first married Thanksgiving!!

December

Celebrated our first married Christmas, and started our own NICE traditions!

I LOVED everything about 2011:) Here is to hoping for the best 2012! Happy New Year everyone!!

Jackie Nice