Crispy Taquitos

Crispy Taquitos (SNAP recipe)

Serving Size: 3 taquitos

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups Pico de Gallo

1/2 cup cooked, finely chopped chicken

1/2 cup no salt added corn, canned or frozen, thawed

1/4 cup chopped green onion

1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup shredded, reduced fat cheddar cheese or Monterey jack or queso fresco

corn tortillas (the little ones)

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 425 F.

2. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup Pico de Gallo, chicken, corn, green onion, green pepper, and cheese.

3. Soften tortillas on the stove top or in the microwave oven, and spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling onto the center of each tortilla. Roll up tightly and secure each with a toothpick.

4. Place rolled tortillas seam side down on a baking sheet and brush each lightly with oil. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp and lightly browned.

5. Place 3 taquitos on each plate and serve with remaining Pico de Gallo.

Tips and changes

I used salsa instead of pico because that's what I had. I was a bit worried they would be to moist, but it worked out fine.

Did not use bell pepper because I did not have it.

Mine made about 16 taquitos.

Probably don't need the toothpicks if the taquitos are seam side down.

I heated tortillas in the microwave between two damp papertowels for about 30 seconds. I did four at a time. I have never used the little corn tortillas before and quite a few of them did crack after I rolled them.

I served them with a Cesar salad, but a vegetable crudite would be good or any other type of salad.

Sausage Pasta

This isn't a SNAP recipe or anything from our curriculum, but it has become a staple in our house. I modified it from a recipe found on allrecipes.com. It's easy to make and could even be done with some pre-cooked ingredients. Bear in mind that this a "throw together" recipe. Not everything is exact.

Sausage Pasta

Ingredients:

1 (ish) pound of Italian sausage - pork or turkey

Half a box (ish) of whole grain penne or rotini

1 cup (ish) of Great Northern Beans

2 cups (ish) of fresh spinach

one can diced tomatoes, well drained

Grated Parmesan (not the canned stuff)

Directions:

1) Brown sausage in quart pan.

2) When sausage is almost done, add beans.

3) While pasta is cooking, stir in spinach to meat and bean mixture so it has time to wilt. Also add drained tomatoes at this time.

4) Drain pasta and add to the meat mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan and enjoy!

Hints:

I cook up a bag of Great Northern beans and have then in the freezer. This way, you always have them on hand and can just take out as many as you need.

I don't normally drain my sausage as the stuff I buy isn't very fatty. Plus it gives things a bit more flavor since this is a sauce-less dish.

More veges could be added, but we are happy with this concoction at the moment.