taco alternative | Cooking in College

Chicken Taquitos

A healthy alternative to the frozen taquito counterpart.

Servings – 9 to 10 taquitos

Prep time – 10 minutes

Cook time – 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (try cooking up an extra breast or so with dinner the night before!)

6 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cup chopped baby leaf spinach (with stems removed)

1 small bell pepper, any color, chopped

6 ounces (or 3/4 cup) of softened cream cheese, or plain Greek yogurt, or combination

2 tablespoons of fajita or taco seasoning

9 to 10 six inch flour tortillas (we used whole wheat tortillas)

Protocol

1. Saute the bell pepper over medium heat until slightly tender, about 3 to 4 minutes.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine the green peppers and all of the above ingredients (sans the tortillas) and mix until evenly combined.

3. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the mixture into a tortilla and spread it out into a “log.” Roll the tortilla tightly and set aside. Repeat for the remaining tortillas.

4. In a medium sized pan, pour in enough vegetable oil to liberally coat the bottom. Heat this oil over medium heat until hot.

5. Place about 3 or 4 taquitos into the pan (seam side down!) and fry each side for about 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat for all of the taquitos.

6. Serve with salsa, sour cream, or guacamole and enjoy!

-D&E

It’s “Arrival Survival” week here at Pitt. But to us it seems like there is a lot of arriving and not enough surviving. Freshman are beginning to pour into the Oakland area for the very first time this week.

The freshman see it this way:

Yay College!

We see it this way:

Grab your junk, get into your dorm, and don’t come outside!

Okay maybe we should lay off the freshman moving in this week. We were one of those freshies not too long ago. Yesterday was actually the 4-year anniversary of when we met for the first time! (You can read all about it here). This week is also a special week because our bestest friend in the whole world, Karin, is moving in to sublet the extra room for the fall semester. Speaking of freshman and Karin, here is a picture of us as freshman with Karin!

Alright enough with the reminiscing, we’ve got a recipe to share with you – Taco pizzas! We realize this is a very easy recipe and is basically a baked un-folded taco. But we made it, it was easy, and we liked it, so now you will know how to make it too! And with the extra beans and meat you don’t use for pizzas, make tacos for lunch or dinner the next day!

Taco Pizzas

Print this recipe!

Basically a taco. Who we kidding?

Servings – 6 pizzas
Prep time – 10 minutes
Cook – 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1 small onion, chopped
1 can refried beans
6 corn tortillas
3 baby bell peppers, thinly sliced (optional but a good decision)
About 1/2 cup shredded cheese (any kind you like)

Protocol

1. Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Lay out the corn tortillas (3 per sheet) onto baking sheets (lightly sprayed with non-stick). Bake the tortillas for 3 minutes so they become slightly crispy.

2. In a large non-stick pan, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat. Drain any excess fat, add in the taco seasoning, onion, and 2 tablespoons of water and cook over medium heat until onions become tender.

3. While beef is browning, heat up the re-fried beans in a separate sauce pan. Set aside once beans become warm and easy to stir (you can also do this in the microwave!).

4.Spread the beans over the tortillas (like the sauce) and beef (like the toppings). You can then layer on the bell pepper slices and the cheese or any topping you wish to add.