Chicken Taquitos

Please excuse the messy background.  I was in too much of a hurry to snap the shot before the sun went down and/or the baby started crying.

These were very yummy, good enough and pretty enough for company, but easy enough for a weeknight.  Sooooo much better than the frozen store-bought taquitos, there's not even a comparison. 

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked, shredded*
• 1 1/2 cups shredded smoked cheddar and swiss cheese blend (if you can't find the blend, you can just use smoked cheddar)
• 1 (7oz) can salsa verde (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 20 6-in corn tortillas
• 1 quart oil for frying or a little olive oil for baking**
• 1 cup sour cream (optional)
• 1 cup chunky salsa (optional)
• 1 cup guacamole (optional)

1. Heal oil in deep fryer to 350**.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together chicken, cheese, salsa verde, and onions.  Spoon about 1 1/2 TBS chicken mixture into soft*** tortilla.  You'll want your tortilla about 1" wide when rolled.  The filling shouldn't come close to the ends or it will fall out.  Secure with toothpicks.
3. Fry rolls 4 or 5 at a time, so they have enough room to cook evenly.  Drain on paper towels, top with sour cream, salsa, and/or guacamole.

Ok, here are my notes. 

*To make the shredded chicken, I just stuck the chicken and a can of chicken broth in the crockpot on hi for about 4 hours
**You can either bake or fry these babies.  I baked them.  I put the rolled tquitos on a cookie sheet, brushed them with olive oil (be sure to get the ends), and baked them at 500 for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. 

***There are several methods to softening the tortilla so they don't crack while rolling them.  My favorite method is to stick a couple of tortillas in a zip lock bag, zip it closed, and cook it on hi for 15 seconds.  When you do it this way, you won't even need to use the toothpicks, they'll just stay in place.  I've heard there are some health risks to doing it this way, but I guess that means I care more about having pretty taquitos than my health.  Shame on me!