Turkey Taquitos

This week's new recipe is Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos. As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. I love, love, LOVE the taquitos you get in a box for like $5 in the freezer section (okay, I'm sure these days its more like $7, since I haven't allowed myself to buy them for a long time) but they're so full of processed crap I just can't justify putting them into my body. I'm sure the fried ones at Mexican restaurants are just as bad for me, but at least there I don't have to look at the ingredients list :).

I did modify the recipe a little bit. I had most of what I needed, but I made a few substitutions/omissions. The big one was to use cooked turkey instead of chicken, because I had a ridiculous amount left over from cooking a turkey breast in the slow cooker. Below is my modified recipe:

Baked Turkey Taquitos

1/4 c. (4 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 T. lime juice
1/2 t. ground cumin
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 T. dried cilantro
2 c. shredded cooked turkey
1 c. grated pepper jack cheese

approximately 20 small corn tortillas
cooking spray
salt

If cooking right away,  heat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with foil. I forgot to use cooking spray on the foil, but it didn't seem to matter.

Mix cream cheese, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cilantro, turkey, and cheese in a small bowl until well combined. At this point, you can refrigerate the filling. (I had guests coming over, so I prepped the filling ahead of time and stuck it in the fridge for about 5 or 6 hours).

Microwave 2-3 tortillas at a time between damp paper towels for 20-30 seconds (my microwave is weak, so it took 30 seconds). Spread a small amount of filling in a line on the lower third of the tortilla (see the original recipe for pictures, since my camera is broken) and roll them up tightly. Lay them on the cookie sheet, seam side down, and make sure they don't touch. I had trouble keeping mine tightly rolled; they tended to relax once I put them on the pan. Anyone know a solution for this? It didn't affect the flavor, but it made my borderline OCD self unhappy.

Anyway, once you've filled a pan, spray them with cooking spray and sprinkle salt over the tops. The original recipe calls for kosher salt, but I found that the coarse grains tended to bounce right off instead of sticking, so I used regular table salt. Then bake them for 15-20 minutes, or until the ends are golden brown and crispy. (15 minutes in my oven, so you might want to check them around 12 minutes or so).

Conclusion: Delicious!!! The picky eater in me wants to point out that only the ends were crispy, while the middles were not, but that made my toddler happy (she broke them in half, ate the middles, and then shoved her finger through the crispy ends so she could wear them like a ring). These tasted a lot like the junk-food-in-a-box taquitos, but were full of yummy real food goodness. And they were baked, not fried! I had them with sour cream, my husband dipped his in homemade salsa, and the friends we had over for dinner took turns with the salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. I was skeptical about using the pepper jack cheese, because I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy foods, but they weren't spicy at all (as we could tell, because my toddler ate them without complaint, except for the crispy bits)

As you can see from the picture, a couple of them split open while cooking, but that didn't keep them from being devoured. Next time I may make a double batch and pop half of them in the freezer to test out how well they taste after being frozen. 

What's your favorite guilty pleasure junk food? Do you have a healthier homemade version that makes you less guilty?