Chicken Taquito's

Chicken Taquitos

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (juice from half a lime)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro (I omitted this.)
2 Tbsp sliced green onions (I used Green Chilie's)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
small flour or corn tortillas
salt
cooking spray


-Preheat your oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.


-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 and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese; mix thoroughly.

-Heat your tortilla's in the microwave for a few seconds. Keep them warm in a towel. I used 1TBSP of mixture, anymore seemed like too much. Roll your tortillas as tightly as you can. (Unfortunately, my tortilla's started breaking apart as I was working with them. Next time I will use flour tortilla's instead of corn!)

-Line your baking sheet with taquito's making sure not to overlap. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake 15-20 minutes or until brown.

These are very good. You can serve them with dips such as guacamole, sour cream or salsa.  These also freeze very well.   Heavenly Homemaker suggests wrapping each taquito in plastic wrap to freeze. I went ahead and baked mine, and put them in ziploc freezer bags. It only takes about one minute to reheat them in the microwave and they stay crunchy!

Heavenly Homemaker is a fantastic blog. It includes menu planning ideas, recipes (like this one), Christian encouragement in your daily walk, frugal living ideas and so much more!!!

Menu Planning/ Meal Plan 7/19-8/1

Ahh, Menu Planning. Or is it more like, "AAAAHHHHH!!! MENU PLANNING!!!!!" ? In my case, it can be a bit of both.  I have figured out that having a set menu helps me save money and my sanity. We can try new meals and decided if it is a keeper or if we never eat it again. I don't have to wonder "Ugh, what is for dinner tonight?" To go even further, I even plan out breakfast, lunch and snacks.

Here is a Dinner-Only look:

• The way I meal plan is simple. I first look at how far out I want to menu plan. Right now, I am only doing per-pay-period menu planning, but for my sanity, I think I will switch to one day of planning a month's worth of meals. So. Much. Easier.
• Next, I get together my recipes together. For this menu, I needed 13 dinners with the 14th meal being out. So, I find 13 dinner recipes and sides.  I gather a few of our good ole standbys that I know everyone will love. Then, depending, I will add some brand new dinner recipes to the menu.
• Now I look at C's work schedule for this week. He works at the same time every day, and the same off days, they just rotate so I like to plan accordingly. I then look at my calendar to see if I have any meetings, play dates, parties, appointments, etc that would interfere with dinner prep or dinner itself. After that is done, I can start placing what meals go on which days. I try and choose meals that take the most time prepping/cooking for nights that C is off. Crockpot meals are easy for days that I may not be home at dinner time and he can just eat and take a plate with him.
• I do a ton on my computer, but menu planning (for right now) just isn't one of them. I like to have a hard copy in front of me. I can't always be on my computer, but I can leave a piece of paper on the counter to come back to if I have a spare moment.
• There are a ton of free blank menu planners on the internet. Organized Home has a nice printable. For more of a calendar format, Donna Young.org has a nice selection of different weekly and monthly printable.
• Lastly, I fill in what dinner goes on what night. :)

Here is a copy of the rough draft I made of this period's menu. As you can see it isn't perfect, and I don't plan on making a nice, neat one either. One important thing: Place your menu plan on your refrigerator or in a spot that is easily accessible and easily seen.

(Yes, I realize my photography skills aren't the best and I cut off and only have six days instead of seven!)

Here is my menu plan for July 19th-August 1st:

Monday 19th: B)grits/Fruit   L)mac and cheese   D)out

Tuesday 20th: B)cereal/fruit  L)Daddy's Choice   D)Potato Soup/Taquitos (homemade)

Wednesday 21st: B) Cheese Toast/Fruit  L)Leftover Potato Soup and Homemade corn dogs  D) Homemade Graham Crackers w/ Homemade peanut butter, bananas and pretzels

Thursday 22nd: B)Oatmeal/Fruit  L) Homemade PB sandwiches/pretzels  D) Crockpot: Bacon Wrapped Garlic Chicken with mashed potatoes, fried squash and fried okra (I bought fresh squash and okra at the farmer's market in town the other day. I LOVE fried squash but rarely fry anything-tonight-we shall FRY! lol)

Friday 23rd:  B) Breakfast Cookies/Fruit  L) Rice and Beans  D) Homemade Pizza

Saturday 24th:  B) Grits/Fruit  L) Homemade PB sandwich/pretzels/cheese stick  D) Spaghetti (homemade sauce) with green beans and bread

Sunday 25th:  B) Cheese toast/Fruit  L) Left over Spaghetti and Carrots  D) Spicy Black-eyed Pea soup and cornbread

Monday 26th: B) Oatmeal/Fruit  L) Mac and Cheese  D) Crockpot Sloppy Joe's with Oven Fries and English Peas

Tuesday 27th: B) Breakfast Cookie/Fruit  L) PB Sandwich/ pretzels/cheese stick  D) TBA  (*If I have a sitter, the kids will eat supper there and I will pack C sandwiches for his take-to-work meal*)

Wednesday 28th: B) Grits/Fruit  L) Mayo Biscuits and Rice  D) Corn Chowder and Rolls

Thursday 29th: B) Homemade Blueberry Muffins/Fruit  L) Homemade Corn dogs (from freezer) and green beans  D)Chicken and Rice with Carrots

Friday 30th: B) Cereal/Fruit  L)Taquitos (from freezer)  D) Crockpot Turkey Steaks with Cheesy garlic mashed potatoes and corn

Saturday 31st:  B) Eggs and Toast/Fruit  L) Mac and Cheese   D) Sante Fe Soup with bread

Sunday 1st: B)Oatmeal/Fruit  L) Left over Soup  D) Mushroom Chicken with rice and green beans

I will be posting recipes for the homemade peanut butter, taquitos and corn dogs in a later post!