Taquitos At Home

There is a mexican restaurant in my hometown called Pedro's. The food can't be beat. Everytime that Travis and I go, we get the bean and cheese burrito and taquitos. The food is delicious, but not exactly nutritious. My cousin and fellow blogger David, enjoys recreating his favorite meals from out in the world in his own kitchen. I like to take my own spin on this approach, by making meals in my kitchen that I wouldn't eat out in the real world (either due to the fat content or ingredients that are unsafe for me). This is where the taquitos come in. I was motivated to find a way to make them healthier than the deep fried restaurant style, and less chemically-laden than the frozen restaurant aisle taquitos my husband has been eyeing lately.

Let's get started....

Grab some corn tortillas. Corn is a better option healthwise than flour. Before you get started, preheat your oven to 375.
I made carnitas over the weekend, and had a bunch of leftovers. I posted the carnitas recipe on 9/16. Decided to kick up the seasoning a little bit for the taquitos and mixed the leftover shredded meat with chili powder, garlic powder, and a little bit of salt and pepper.


This next step is very important. You need to heat up your tortillas. This helps to prevent them from cracking when you roll the taquitos. We don't have a microwave (yet! haha) so I dry heated mine on the stove top. Just heated up a skillet and warmed the tortillas there, no oil, no pam.

Grab your favorite baking sheet and line with foil. Spray the foil with nonstick spray. Set your warm tortilla on there. (If you warm several at a time in the microwave, just keep them stacked under a dish towel and they'll stay nice and warm). Place your carnitas in a line down the center of the tortilla. Roll it up into a cigar shape.
After you do one, the process becomes quite easy. Get rolling!Dampen a paper towel, and lay this over the rolled taquitos as you prepare the rest. This will keep them moist and prevent the cracking.

All rolled up and ready to head into the oven. Bake in the oven until crispy....14 to 16 minutes. After they are done, I recommend spraying a little bit of Pam on top of the crisped taquitos, and sticking them back in the oven on a low broil setting. This will help them to get nicely browned and extra crispy.
I was feeling a little bit impatient, so I put a teaspoon of oil into a pan and browned them this way. Not a bad option, but not quite as healthy as spraying with Pam to brown.

Yum, yum, yum. Crispy, crunchy, golden brown, and free of junk!
Knowing that these taquitos are WAY healthier than normal store bought or restaurant bought ones, I accommodated my cheese loving husband by spreading some grated cheese on top of the taquitos, and sticking them in the oven under broil. This just helps to melt the cheese quickly.
Keep an eye on this, the cheese melts quickly and you don't want to burn your taquitos after all of this hard work!

Here is my hubby's plate....
Here is my plate.... I added some homemade salsa, with sour cream on the side. So delicious. I was really pleased with how crisp the taquitos turned out.
The best part is that they received Travis's approval - success!

Go make these for your family :)
Mary