Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

I just received this recipe from my wonderful sister-in-law Rachel Carpenter of John Day.
These look scrumptious – a “buffalo wing” twist on taquitos!
I don’t know why I’ve never thought to make homemade taquitos. I think my family – including my four growing boys – would love these, and I may have to make a double batch just to keep up with them!

Rachel serves these with Red Rice and her El Mercado’s Mexican Coleslaw - a recipe that is also available on my blog.

Load your plate up and enjoy!

Ingredients: 
4 C. cooked, shredded chicken
12 soft taco, flour tortillas
2 C. grated mozzarella cheese
4 oz. cream cheese
1/3 C. Franks Hot Sauce
1/3 C. milk
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. Mrs. Dash
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Melt butter in small saucepan over med low heat. Add Mrs. Dash and garlic powder. Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute. Add cream cheese and stir until melted and completely combined with butter and spices.
Wisk in hot sauce and milk and simmer for 5-8 minutes. Add salt to taste. Combine chicken and sauce.
Lay out warmed tortillas, fill each with about 1/4-1/3 C. chicken and 2 Tbsp. shredded Mozzarella cheese.
Tightly roll up each taquito and place on greased baking sheet. Repeat until all chicken mixture is used.
Brush taquitos with vegetable oil on all sides.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. Rotate every 5 minutes until golden brown.
Serve with blue cheese dressing if desired.

Homemade Yogurt

This yogurt is delicious, creamy and easy to make. Also, worth it!


All you need to make this is a gallon jug of milk, a cup of yogurt and some sugar and vanilla! Supplies needed include a candy thermometer, quart-size jars plus one pint, and a cooler (such as Coleman or Igloo), then you're set!
This recipe comes from Rachel Carpenter of John Day – thank you! She found this online, adapted from Frugal Girl.
I never thought of making fresh yogurt, but after watching Rachel make this a couple weeks ago, I realize that it is totally do-able. It tastes fantastic with a bit of strawberry freezer jam and granola, or even a bit of brown sugar. Blueberries would be another nice topping – the possibilities are endless!

For any questions, please email me at angel@bmeagle.com.

Ingredients:

1 gallon of milk, whole or 1-2 percent (see tip below)
1 C. yogurt starter (can use a cup of plain yogurt such as Dannon or Yoplait, with yogurt cultures, or you can use a cup from your previous batch of homemade yogurt)
1/2-1 C. sugar (or Agave nectar, if you prefer)
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Place four quart-size glass jars, four lids, and four screw-tops in a large pot. Fill with an inch of water; cover with lid and heat to boiling. Boil ten minutes. Leave the lid on the pot and move it off the heat until you are ready to use the jars.

Pour one gallon of whole milk into a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot. Over medium heat, warm the milk to 190 degrees F. Make sure to do this slowly, you don’t want the milk to scorch on the bottom of the pan.

Place the pot in a sink filled with cold water and let the milk cool to 120 degrees F. While the milk is cooling, stir in the sugar or agave and vanilla. Once the milk has reached 120 degrees F, stir in the cup of yogurt starter using a whisk. Stir well to ensure that the starter is thoroughly incorporated into the milk.

Pour the milk into jars and put the lids and bands on. Place them in a cooler (such as an Igloo or Coleman cooler).

Shut the cooler lid and leave in a warm place for six hours (don’t open the cooler lid). When the six hours are up, place the yogurt in the refrigerator.

Angel's tip: If you go with a 1- or 2-percent milk the consistency will be a bit runnier than yogurt from the store. I tried the yogurt made with 1 percent and thought it tasted wonderful!