W.T.F? Those Taquitos Are Good!

"Those taquitos are good!"  

-Sigfredo Sr. 

My brother-in-law's brother-in-law is right; My sister, Christine, makes some pretty tasty taquitos! Her husband of 25 years is El Salvadorian. In those 25 years, Juan and his family have introduced several different products and techniques to our family. One of those What The Food products is Sazon.

Sazon is a muy delicioso Goya-brand flavoring agent that acts in the same way traditional bouillon cubes do... but with a powdery latin flare. I'll be using it for the rice. Another WTF spice I use regularly is Tajin!

Tajin was introduced to me by another amazing cook, my beautiful, Mexican neighbor, Ivonne. Tajin is a natural chile and lime spice that is perfect for all kinds of recipes, not just Spanish cooking! You can easily find Sazon and Tajin in your major supermarkets. In fact, I just spotted Tajin at Wal-Mart!

Today, I am making my own, non-fried, chicken taquitos, with the above two Spanish seasonings. Don't get me wrong, I love fried, just not today. Besides, I have been craving some Chipotle Grill as of late... but on a less gargantuan-of-a-burrito scale.  I decided to make some chipotle taquitos to kill my craving!

Kertney's Chipotle Chicken Taquitos
Prep Time: 2.5hrs (depends on if you marinade the chicken)

Cook time: 3-4 hrs- slow cooker
Makes 10+ taquitos

2 large, whole, Chicken breasts, skin on, bone-in. (Any part of the chicken will work, really... unless I am coming over for dinner, in which case, please use breast)
1tsp Tajin
1tsp Salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 cups Chicken Stock
1 chicken bouillon cube
Zest of 1/2 Lime
1/2 Lime juice
1 chile in adobo sauce
1/2 jar of store-bought Chipotle Salsa (I use my husband's favorite, Guy Fieri's "Da' Spice is Right" Salsa AND it's gluten free)
5 shakes of Texas Pete (My FAVORITE hot sauce)
1tsp Salt

Condiments:
Flour tortillas- warmed
shredded cheddar cheese
Sour Cream
Cilantro - optional
Extra hot sauce
Lime wedges (for squeezing onto your taquito... and for your Corona)

In a nutshell, take all of the above spices, olive oil and lime zest and rub them onto to your chicken.  Be sure to rub the spices on and under the skin. If you have the time, let that sit for an hour or two. If not- no biggie, just know that the longer they sit, the more flavorful they become! Brown the breasts in a prepared skillet on med-high heat. Put the browned chicken breasts into a crock pot and cover with the stock, lime juice (throw the 1/2 lime in there after squeezing it), bouillon and adobo chile. Trust me, you only want one of those little buggers unless you like some heat. Be careful! They are super spicy!

Waste not want not: Put the rest of the chiles in a ziplock bag or a plastic container and freeze until you need them again. 

Cover the crock on high heat and let sit for 4 hours, or until the chicken pulls apart with ease. Remove the bones and shred the chicken.

In a frying pan on medium heat, add butter, Texas Pete and onions. Saute until translucent. Add your shredded chicken, salt and salsa. (My sis uses a product called Sofrito in lieu of Salsa... but that's hard to find around here. Dunno why? It's a Goya product, though)


Spanish Rice: 


2 cups rice- long grain
1 pkg. Sazon
1tsp olive oil
1tsp butter
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 chopped red bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 cups water
1/2 cup of Stock from the crock
1 tsp. salt (optional)

Prepare your rice 30-40minutes before you serve your taquitos. On high heat, in that SAME skillet you used for the chicken, add your butter, olive oil, onions, rice and Sazon until everything is well incorporated and the rice is hard white and the onions are translucent. (about 3minutes) Next, add your peas, peppers and garlic and stir for only a minute- we don't want to burn the garlic!  Add your water and stock- you should hear a large sizzle! Reduce the heat to low, cover and let steam for 30minutes. You can add salt to this if you want to, say, if you were preparing this as a side dish, but, because I am using them INSIDE the taquito, I'll leave the salt optional.

Take a warmed tortilla and add your rice, chicken, a squeeze of lime, dollop of sour cream, cilantro... load it up and finish it with a nice, cold swig of Corona. If you want to make a huge batch of refried beans or frijoles negros, GO FOR IT! I opted to stay away from the frijoles this time... especially after the stomach flu invaded the Kertney household.  TMI, I know. The Corona, however, was necessary.