I like taquitos. You know those boxes of them that are sold in the frozen food aisle? Yes, those. But I had never thought to try making them from scratch until a few months ago. I had a bag of tortillas and some chicken that I needed to use, so I went forth without looking up any recipes online, just to see what I could conjure up without any guidance.

I knew I needed to cook the chicken so it could be easily shredded, so I chose to bake it just until it hit 165 degrees then let it rest for 5-10 minutes before mashing it with a wooden spatula. Then I added flavors I wanted to be included in the mix, filled the tortillas and baked them. That’s it.

They turned out better than I hoped. While I could have used a couple more tortillas so the six I made weren’t so over-stuffed and hard to keep closed, the flavors were perfect. I’ll definitely be making these again, perhaps trying them with another meat next time.

Ingredients
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped into small squares
1 package boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1.25 pounds)
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons jalapeño sauce
8-10 white corn tortillas
Dash of white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of garlic powder or 1 clove minced garlic
Canola oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Rinse chicken and put in a dutch oven or oven-safe dish. Cook in oven for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through and temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Remove from oven and let cool. Keep oven on.

Line a cookie sheet with foil.

Once chicken is cool enough to handle, use a wooden spatula to mash it, until it is nearly completely shredded. Add red pepper, cheese, jalapeño sauce, white pepper, salt and garlic and mix together until blended.

Heat a bit of canola oil in a small frying pan on medium-high heat and briefly cook tortillas, one at a time on each side, until they are soft enough to fill and roll.

Take each tortilla and fill it with about 1/4 cup filling or more, if desired. Roll the tortilla around the filling and put each one seam-side down on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until tortillas are slightly crispy. Serve warm with sour cream or salsa.