I’ll admit it…I’m a sucker for those frozen store-bought taquitos…I love them in all of their processed and bad for you “goodness.” However, while I let myself splurge and indulge on those every once in awhile, they aren’t something I would feel particularly great about feeding to my family. I am a big believer in home cooking, and like to make things as semi-homemade as possible. I have tried recipes for taquitos time and time again, and may have finally landed on one that I like. (And you might just have all the ingredients you need to make it! Especially if you follow my method of a well-stocked pantry!)

Here is what you’ll need to make these!

Boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders

salt to taste

oregano to taste

2T vegetable oil

12 small corn tortillas

diced green chiles

(If I were allowed to cook with onions, I would have also added some finely diced sauteed onion!)

grated cheese

dipping sauce of your choice!

SUPER easy right?!  Okay, here we go!

Place frozen boneless skinless chicken into a large pot of water. Season the water with salt and oregano to taste. Trust me on the oregano. It blends beautifully with Latin cooking!When your chicken is fully cooked, shred it with two forks (or your hands if you can stand the super hot chicken!)

Add in the diced green chiles (and onion!)

Here is a picture of the water after I had removed the chicken.

(*Tip! I used some of this cooking liquid in my side dish! I made Zatarains Yellow Rice, and used this liquid instead of water. Use about half of the liquid/half tap water to not overwhelm the rice with salt.)

Next, spread a tablespoon of vegetable oil on a hot griddle. Fry up six of your corn tortillas at a time, giving each side a nice golden brown, while softening them up a bit by warming them in the oil. (This will make them easier to roll and less likely to break on you, as cold corn tortillas are fragile!)

Scoop your filling onto each tortilla, and then roll. (*Tip! Do not add the cheese during this step! I have learned the hard way in past attempts that filling the taquitos with cheese merely results in a cheese filled pan! Put the cheese on top and leave the filling as just the chicken mixture!)

Place the filled taquitos seam side down into a 13×9 glass baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes, or until the tortillas have crisped up a bit. I like mine to have a nice golden color and a good crunch. You can also turn your broiler on for a few minutes at the end to crisp up the top, but make sure to keep a close eye, so that you don’t burn them!

Top your taquitos with the sauce of your choice. I prefer some nice melted cheese, but you can also dunk these tasty treats into sour gream, salsa, guacamole, queso, or a nice red pepper dip. Enjoy!!