Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

I never thought I'd be one of those parents to cook something just because you know your kids will like it. I'm a firm believer in introducing kids to all foods and all tastes and strongly against cooking a separate meal for the kids. They can eat what we eat. My kids have been exposed to so many different foods and love to eat curry, Thai food, gyoza, and many other things. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean they always enjoy it. One doesn't like fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, or onions, while the other one eats any and all veggies but isn't a huge meat fan....and every once in a while I do like a break from the turned up noses and the picky whines.

So as I was brainstorming my meal plan over the weekend, I was thinking of doing something different yet pleasing to the kids (and the adults!) at the same time. Everyone in the family goes crazy when I make Creamy Beef Taquitos so I did a spin on that using chicken breasts I already had in the freezer. While there is Frank's red hot sauce mixed into the filling, it's toned down quite a bit because of the ranch flavoring, cream cheese and mozzarella. It was a great experiment!

Recipe by Meal Planning 101
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Makes 10 taquitos

2 cups cooked, diced or shredded chicken
1/3 cup light cream cheese
2 tbsp dry Ranch seasoning mix
1/3 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (or Monterey jack)
10 small flour tortillas
Cooking spray
Kosher salt

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add ranch seasoning and Frank's red hot sauce and stir to combine. Add the chicken and cheese and mix. You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Place 2-3 tbsp of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Roll it up as tight as you can. If your tortillas are cracking or breaking, you can microwave them for 10-20 seconds with a damp paper towel over top. Once rolled, place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or brush with a bit of oil and sprinkle some kosher salt on top. Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Remove from the oven and serve with ranch for dipping.

*Alternatively if you don't already have cooked chicken you can place 2-3 chicken breasts in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with seasoning salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until cooked through. Dice finely.

Click here for printable version of Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

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RESULTS?

I have this section here called "results" so this isn't one big gush about how totally awesome everything and anything I make is. It's here so I can be real and tell you our true and honest opinions of the recipes. So my kids real and true honest opinions were....they didn't hate it (Haha! That's what my 5 year old said). They ate it without any complaining or coaxing, so that was a plus for Mom. But my husband, the one who's favorite food in the world is hot wings, loved them! In the end it was a great compromise meal. The adults were happy and satisfied while the kids ate them, dipped them in ranch and then asked for more veggies to dip in ranch. Wins all around I think.

Oh and if you are wondering about spice level, I think it's mild with a bit of heat. My kids said it was warm but they didn't complain it was too spicy. My husband, the spice fiend, went to his hot sauce collection and doused his in more hot sauce, while I thought it was perfect.

Meal Ideas: