Pyrex glass bowls

After an indulgent long weekend in New Orleans, a week of healthy eating was in order. But healthy doesn’t have to mean flavorless; we love food too much to eat boring dinners. The first night back we had slow-roasted tomato and garlic spaghetti; the next night I made what I call “French salad”: a combination of lots of chopped vegetables, a little bit of cooked chicken breast, some feta if I have it (glass baking dish), and chopped toasted almonds, lightly dressed in a lemon-mustard vinaigrette. Leftovers came to work with me the next day, too.
And last night, we had Mexican food. Too often, Mexican food gets a bad rap. Many people assume it must be smothered in cheese, cooked in lard, and therefore bad for you. Sure, some things involve cheese, and many dishes are fried. But some of the best Mexican food is fresh, light and full of vegetables ahem, fresh salsa and can be a very healthy meal.
For example, taquitos–typically listed as a starter on Mexican restaurant menus–are corn tortillas that are fried, then rolled around chicken, beef or other ingredients, and baked until crisp. They are often topped with queso fresco in a creamy sauce similar to crème fra? I eliminate the frying, top with salsa, and serve with a side of chipotle black beans another great use for one of my pantry staples for a healthy but very satisfying dinner. The crisp taquitos are most easily eaten with your hands.
In the past I’ve used chipotle chicken for this recipe, but any cooked chicken will do here, provided it’s shredded or sliced small enough to easily roll up into the pyrex glass dish. For the version below, I baked a boneless breast of chicken, drizzled with some olive oil spices, in the oven at 350° until just cooked through, and stored it in the fridge until I was ready to make this.
Wrap the tortillas in damp paper towels, and microwave on high for 30-60 seconds until they are soft and pliable enough to roll without breaking (this is best done in two batches. Lay out a few tortillas on the counter, and put 2-3 T of filling along the center of each one. Roll up tightly, to about the size of a fat cigar. Secure with a toothpick and place seam-side down on the baking sheet. Do this for all the tortillas, leaving a little room between each on the pan.If you don’t have toothpicks, place the taquitos tightly together so they hold each other in place; they will not get as crisp this way and you may have to bake them longer.Brush the taquitos with about a tsp of olive oil (this helps them crisp). Bake for about 20 minutes until the edges start to brown and they are crisp in the middle.
When the taquitos are ready, remove from oven, top with salsa and more cilantro pyrex glass oven and serve with beans on the side.