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

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