It’s almost Super Bowl Sunday, which, in my book, means that it’s Super Food Sunday. To be honest, I never even know who’s actually playing in the game; I just get excited about the food coma I’ll be slipping into after the game (but who doesn’t?). One of my favorite finger foods happens to be taquitos, so I thought it would be perfect to serve as a Super Bowl Sunday appetizer.

Unlike the usual deep-fried taquitos, this recipe requires baking the taquitos instead. Now I’m sure you’ve heard that it’s always better to bake instead of deep fry, but I bet you’re also wondering why that’s the case. Oils, especially the healthy ones, are rich in essential fatty acids (EFAs), which are fats that our body cannot naturally make. Deep-frying not only destroys the nutrients in oils, but it also turns EFAs into toxic products (yikes!). Therefore it’s always better to go with baking, which doesn’t destroy the oils as much.

I also steered away from the typical guacamole dip and decided to serve the taquitos with a creamy avocado dip made with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Not only is Greek yogurt healthier than sour cream, but it’s also healthier than regular yogurt with almost double the protein content, half the sodium content, and lower carbohydrate content. The best part is that it tastes better, too, with its thicker consistency and creamier texture!

There’s no need to feel any guilt when eating the avocado dip. While it is true that avocados are high in fat, they actually promote weight loss because they provide a large quantity of vitamins and nutrients with even a small serving. Oh, did I mention that I made my tortillas for this recipe from scratch? It’s surprisingly quick and simple! I know I’ll be enjoying this Super Bowl Sunday with a guilt-free food coma…will you?

On a side note, my last blog post made it to the Foodbuzz Top 9 on February 1st! Out of 3,225+ food blog posts, wikiKitchen was #6. Woo!

Creamy Avocado Dip

3 ripe avocados
1/3 cup TJ’s Greek style nonfat plain yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
¼ cup TJ’s diced onion

In a food processor, combine all ingredients. Puree until smooth.

Homemade Tortillas
Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake
Makes 12 tortillas

3 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
4 ½ tbsp olive oil
¾ to 1 cup warm water

Place flour and salt in food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the olive oil and blend. Gradually add water to the flour mixture until a stiff dough forms (the amount of water you need will vary).

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth. Cover the dough with a damp cloth.

Divide dough into 12 pieces. Knead each piece for a few minutes, and form into balls. On a surface dusted with flour, flatten and roll out each ball into a 9-inch circle.

Heat an ungreased heavy-based pan. Cook 1 tortilla at a time, about 30 seconds on each side.

Super Stuffed Chicken Taquitos
Adapted from eHow writer, Rebecca Wicks
Makes 12 large taquitos (24 appetizers when cut in half)

¾ cup chicken stock
12 tortillas (see recipe above)
24 oz. TJ’s grilled chicken strips, chopped
8 oz. shredded pepper jack cheese
1 ½ cups TJ’s diced onion
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Heat chicken stock in a small skillet until simmering.

Quickly dip a tortilla in the simmering broth so each side gets wet. Add a small amount of chicken, cheese, onion, and cilantro to the bottom half of the tortilla. Roll up the taquito and place it seam-side down on the cookie sheet. Repeat until you assemble all 12 taquitos.

After the assembled taquitos have been placed on the cookie sheet, spray the tops of all the taquitos with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes until crisp.

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Tags: avocado dip, Foodbuzz Top 9, Super bowl, taquitos

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 5th, 2011 at 5:40 PM and is filed under Mexican. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.