Monday, May 14, 2012

Transform Your Left Overs Into Taquitas

What do you do with that left over roast? You've had it for dinner twice and your tired of it. Turn it into something different. It could be the big pork roast or the beef. It could also be left over chicken. Perhaps even turkey would be great.  You simply turn it into a taquita!!!  Here is how to do it.

First you need to chop the meat up real finely. If you have a meat grinder it would be perfect. Your food processor will also work. I just sliced and diced my pork with the butcher knife. So therapeutic to hack away with the big knife.
Once your frustrations are relieved it's time to season it up. I'll tell you how I did it but you could do many other things like buying a taco seasoning packet.

I used a can of diced green chilis, a half can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I used some garlic powder and onion powder. A little cumin.
You could use your favorite salsa too. You don't want it to juicy is the only thing.
A can of refried beans or mashed black beans will help make the texture better not to mention a great source of fiber. I used black beans because the were in the cupboard and I missed refried beans on my grocery list.
I put about 10 oz of shredded cheese. I put a combination of Monterey Jack and Cheddar. Then I worked it into my mixture.
Now it's assembly time. I've read several opinions on the best way to soften the tortillas. My Mom taught me to put them in a little oil on the skillet for a few seconds to soften them up. One person suggested a quick bath in chicken broth. I opted for spraying them with cooking oil as I stacked them, and then microwaving for a moment on 50% power. This worked well and kept me from needing to spray them prior to baking them. Of course most restaurants will be frying them. Baking is less mess and less calories. As good? Well, I grew up on fried everything so I do have a preference for it but...
I then spread half the tortilla about a quarter inch thick or roughly 3 table spoons of the filling. I used my handy Cutco peanut butter spreader for the job.
I then rolled it up and placed it on the cookie sheet. My filling was just right for a package of 24 and after cooking you can freeze some for another day!

Bake them at 400 for about 30 or 45 minutes till crispy.

I made a tomatillo sauce for them. Really simple to make using 6 tomatillos baked for about 20 minutes until brown.
I added a couple of tomatoes, some onion, some garlic, some cilantro, jalapenos to taste (I used 7 because I like it hot!), and garlic salt. Blend well and there it is!
A streak of read salsa a dabble guacamole and sour cream and there you have it. It looks nothing like last night's roast.  No one will recognize the transformation!  Go at it....

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