Exploding Chicken Taquitos!

Yesterday was a busy day of preschool, cleaning and visiting with friends, and in my whirlwind of a day I noticed that I'd forgotten to take anything out for dinner! EEk! Around 3:30,when things finally settled down, I realized that all of our meats were still frozen, so I reached for the nearest Hungry Girl book, Hungry Girl 1-2-3, and began flipping through the pages! It didn't take me long to find something I could whip up in a snap with ingredients that I had on hand...Exploding Chicken Taquitos! It literally took me under 15 minutes to put them together and ready to toss in the oven for only another 15 minutes! And what a HUGE hit! The boyfriend devoured them and even my sometimes picky dinner eater toddler gobbled hers right up! That was definitely a first, dinner time is usually a battle for us! You can bet that I will stock up on canned chicken the next time I hit the grocery store, as I already have a ton of leftover corn tortillas frozen into packs of 10-15 in my freezer!!

Exploding Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients

• 8 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• 1 (10 ounce) can white chicken meat packed in water, 98% fat free kind, drained well
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/3 cup fat-free cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/4 teaspoon taco seasoning mix, dry
• red enchilada sauce (optional)
• salsa (optional)
• nonfat sour cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and salsa, and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
3. Remove chicken mixture from the fridge, and drain any excess liquid. Add cheese and taco seasoning, and mix to combine. This is your filling. Set aside.
4. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with nonstick spray, and set it aside.
5. Dampen two paper towels, and place tortillas between them. Microwave for about 1 minute, until tortillas are warm and pliable.
6. Take one tortilla (keep the rest between the paper towels), spray both sides lightly with nonstick spray, and lay it flat on a clean dry surface. Spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons of filling onto the tortilla. Spread it evenly across the entire surface, and roll tortilla up tightly, so that you have a cigar-shaped tube. Secure with toothpicks and place seam-side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
7. Bake for 14 - 16 minutes, until crispy. Allow taquitos to cool for 5 minutes. If you like, dunk in enchilada sauce, salsa, or sour cream!

PER SERVING (2 taquitos): 197 calories, 2.5g fat, 594mg sodium, 22.5 carbs, 3g fiber, 2g sugars, 20.5g protein

Fall Comfort Food...Hungry Girl Style!

It never fails, as soon as Fall comes along, I'm ready for cozy hoodies, slippers and my favorite comfort foods! Last night I made the boyfriend's favorite, Chicken and Dumplings...with a twist! Healthy! :) It was delicious! The best Chicken and Dumplings I've ever made, and the boyfriend's favorite so far!! Yay me! And thanks to Hungry Girl! Hungry Girl's Hungry Chick 'n Dumpling Surprise
Ingredients: Stew 3 large stalks celery, chopped 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped 1 large onion, chopped 1 tsp. chopped garlic Two 14-oz. cans (about 3 1/2 cups) fat-free chicken broth 12 oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breasts 3 cups sliced mushrooms 1/2 tsp. dried thyme 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1 dried bay leaf One 10.75-oz. can 98% fat-free cream of chicken condensed soup 2 cups frozen peas
Dumplings 1 1/2 cups Bisquick Heart Smart baking mix 2/3 cup fat-free milk 1/8 tsp. each salt and black pepper Directions: To make the stew, bring a very large pot sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Add celery, carrots, onion, and garlic. Stirring often, cook until veggies have slightly softened, 6 - 8 minutes. To the pot, add chicken broth, chicken breasts, mushrooms, thyme, and pepper. Add bay leaf and 2 cups of water. Stir well. Cover pot and bring contents to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and let simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove chicken and transfer to a large bowl. Re-cover the pot, and let contents continue to simmer. Once cool enough to handle, shred chicken with two forks -- one to hold the chicken in place and the other to scrape across the meat and shred it. Add shredded chicken to the pot, along with condensed soup and frozen peas. Stir thoroughly and raise heat to medium low; return stew to a simmer. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine dumpling ingredients. Gently mix just until a soft dough forms; don't overmix. Once stew is simmering, add dough in heaping tablespoons to form about 16 individual dumplings; add the dough slowly and evenly so dumplings don't stick together. Cook until dumplings are firm, 10 - 12 minutes, gently turning them over about halfway through cook time. Remove bay leaf, and serve it up! MAKES 8 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 1/8th of recipe (about 1 1/2 cups stew with 2 dumplings)
Calories: 215
Fat: 3g
Sodium: 845mg
Carbs: 30g
Fiber: 4g
Sugars: 7.5g
Protein: 16.5g

PointsPlus® value 5*

HG Tip! Store leftover stew and dumplings separately to prevent soggy dumplings.