I Hate To Cook But I Have To If I Want Some Dinner Baked Chicken Taquitos

So, I actually made something for dinner last night that tasted pretty good and wasn't too hard to make. Shock!

This baked chicken taquito recipe came from melskitchencafe.com and I'm definitely going back and seeing if there are more recipes I might like to try. Well, might force myself to try anyway. I left some of the ingredients out, like the sliced green onion and fresh cilantro and realized just now that I forgot all about the fresh lime juice, I was going to see if I had one of those little plastic limes with the juice inside in the fridge but that slipped my mind and I highly doubt that I have a little plastic lime with the juice inside in the fridge anyway. Definitely no fresh limes in there anywhere.

I also cut the recipe in half because I didn't want to waste too many ingredients if I didn't like the outcome. Keith had gone to work yesterday afternoon so didn't get to taste these taquitos but I think he also would have liked them.

Here's what you need:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup green salsa (I used green taco sauce instead of salsa)
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 green onion, sliced finely, about 2 tbsp
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated monterey jack cheese or pepper jack if you want more spice. I used colby/jack but you could use whatever kind of cheese you like best.
small yellow or white corn tortillas- I used flour tortillas, I get the low carb ones, La Bonita makes the best tasting of the lower carb variety.

And here is what you do:
1/ Heat the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. And now, reading over this I realize that I actually set the oven to 350, don't know why, maybe because I tend to skim over recipes because I don't like to cook, who knows. It all worked out okay, though.
2/ In a medium sized bowl, mix all of the ingredients up to the cilantro, onion, chicken and cheese. Then add the cilantro, onion, chicken and cheese. Or do like I did and don't read that part and just mix it all up together all at once. You can fix this part way ahead of when you want to make the taquitos and just keep it in the fridge till cooking time.
3/ Working with 3-4 tortillas at a time, put them in between damp paper towels and microwave for 30-45 seconds so that the tortillas don't crack when you are rolling them. The low carb flour tortillas work really well for rolling, I'm sure the corn ones would be a little more frustrating and probably crack quite a bit despite the microwaving. Then put a couple of tablespoons of filling on the lower third of the tortilla and roll them up tightly, using toothpicks to hold them together if necessary.
4/ Placed filled taquitos seam side down on the foil lined baking sheet, making sure they don't touch each other. When ready to bake, spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and lightly sprinkle some kosher salt on top. I didn't do this part either because of the whole not reading the instructions thoroughly enough thing. What is up with that, anyway? Maybe it's because I hate to cook. Or I'm just lazy.
5/ Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. I turned my taquitos over halfway through the baking but then they started to unroll so maybe don't turn them over.

You can dip these in whatever you like, salsa, sour cream, quacamole, etc. I added some more shredded cheese to the tops of them while they were still hot and by the time they were cool enough to eat the cheese had melted nicely. I didn't have anything to dip them in but they tasted good and I'm sure I will use this recipe again. Maybe even do it correctly next time now that I've read it all the way through.

I came out with 4 flour taquitos after cutting the recipe in half, and I stuffed them rather full, so this recipe would probably make about a dozen corn taquitos and 8-10 flour ones.

If You Are Constipated

Then find the nearest Tutti Frutti self serve yogurt shop, serve yourself up a big bowl of delicious frosty goodness, and you will be feeling just fine by the next morning. I guess it's the probiotics in the yogurt, kind of like Activia but instead of eating 3 Activias a day to make it work, just one trip to the yogurt shop does the trick. Plus, it's absolutely delicious.

Before we went to the yogurt shop last night (not necessarily because we were constipated we just wanted some yogurt) I made every attempt to fix a home cooked dinner for us, it being one of the odd nights that Keith was actually home and not sleeping in preparation for a late night shift. I made chicken fried chicken, which came out fine, then warmed up a can of baked beans, then while the baked beans and chicken were cooking, was also stirring up a packet of country gravy mix to go on the chicken and simultaneously cooking some frozen vegetables in the microwave. It's the using both saucepans and having the microwave going that gets me every time. I can't handle so many pots on the stove and trying to cook (okay, warm up) three or four things at once. It makes me crazy and the vegetables didn't get cooked enough and it was too late to stick them back in the microwave by the time we realized they weren't cooked enough so we just didn't eat them.

I spent about 30 minutes in the kitchen, which is an eternity in the hate to cook world, I used two saucepans, a skillet, and a bowl for the microwaving, then we had our plates, bowls for the beans because I hate bean juice in my other food, another bowl for serving the inedible vegetables, silverware and cups. So, tons of dirty dishes and we ate the food that took 30 minutes to prepare in about 5 minutes. Then I had to clean everything up. Big messy kitchen for a few minutes of eating. So not worth it.

If we could afford it we would just go out to eat every night.

We did go out a few days ago, downtown to the Rice Bowl Chinese restaurant, where we had been for the Conductors Union holiday party in January. We wanted to go back after eating there that night but kind of forgot about it, it being all the way downtown and me not being all that big on Chinese food. But I did like the orange chicken at the holiday dinner, so that's what I ordered and it was really really good. Keith got a big plate of ribs and chow mein and such and we shared an appetizer of salt and pepper chicken, which is basically crispy fried chicken pieces with salt and pepper on them. Sounds blah but it's very tasty.

There was way too much food so we took half of it home but orange chicken really doesn't warm up all that well, it gets a little soggy outside and dried out inside but I ate it for lunch the next day anyway. I was pleasantly surprised at the dinner bill, the hot tea is included with your meal so for three huge, and I mean huge plates of food it came out to $30.00 and some change. Plus lunch was covered the next day for both of us, well breakfast for Keith because that's when he ate his leftovers. We've spent way more than that for some dinners that weren't half as good, so I think we'll be going back there again. Soon.

Tornadoes and Fried Chicken

Both associated with Southern things. Even though we don't live in the South, not even in South Bakersfield.

We had that wild weather Monday evening, the thunderstorms and actual rain, and last night on the news we find out that we even had a tornado! A short lived small tornado, and after doing a little internet research, it wasn't even a real tornado, but what they call a 'gustnado', but still, a wimpy tornado in Bakersfield is rare indeed, the last one being in 1999.

This is the definition of a gustnado:
A slang term for a short-lived, ground-based, shallow, vortex that develops on a gust front associated with either thunderstorms or showers. They may only extend to 30 to 300 feet above the ground with no apparent connection to the convective cloud above. They may be accompanied by rain, but usually are 'wispy', or only visible as a debris cloud or dust whirl at or near the ground. Wind speeds can reach 60 to 80 mph, resulting in significant damage, similar to that of a F0 or F1 tornado. However, gustnadoes are not considered to be a tornado, and some cases, it may be difficult to distinguish a gustnado from a tornado. Gustnadoes are not associated with storm-scale rotation (i.e. mesocyclones) that is involved with true tornadoes; they are more likely to be associated visually with a shelf cloud that is found on the forward side of a thunderstorm.

And here is a picture of it, not that I saw it with my own eyes, but still exciting and something to talk about.

And, now, the fried chicken. I think we all know that I'm somewhat challenged when it comes to cooking dinner, a chore that I would just as soon hire someone to do if I could afford it. Either that or just eat out every night. I try, I really do try to come up with a variety of meals, affordable meals, nutritious meals, something to eat each night. I keep trying crock pot recipes with not a whole lot of luck, it seems like any meat I put in the crock pot comes out extremely dry no matter how much liquid I put in there. I tried a recipe where you put chicken parts, vegetables, and a can of beer in there and the chicken was so dry it was absolutely inedible. Seriously.

Anyway, I was trying to come up with a dinner last night and chicken fried chicken sounded extremely unhealthy but delicious, so I found a recipe online and it actually came out good. I got a packet of country gravy mix, but something about it was a little off, so next time I'll just make my own cream gravy even though I'm not much of a gravy maker either.

Here is  the recipe, I pounded down the chicken breasts so that they were all the same thickness to cook more evenly and also cut the recipe in half since we didn't need 6 chicken breasts for just the two of us. I fried it in a pan, about 8-10 minutes per side, but if you have a deep fryer, that's probably even better.

Chicken Fried Chicken

30 saltine crackers
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tbsp dry potato flakes (instant potatoes)
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 egg
6 skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 cups oil for frying

1/ Place crackers in a large resealable plastic bag, seal bag and crush crackers with a rolling pin until they are coarse crumbs. I don't have a rolling pin so I just smashed them with my meat tenderizing mallet. Add the flour, potato flakes, seasoned salt, and pepper and mix well.
2/ Beat egg in a shallow dish or bowl. One by one dredge the chicken breasts in the egg, then place in the bag with the crumb mixture. Seal bag and shake to coat. Or just get frustrated like me and put the crumbs in another bowl and dredge the chicken in it that way.
3/ Heat oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan or just a frying pan like me to 350 degrees or just seems like it's hot enough like me.
4/ Fry chicken, turning frequently, until golden brown and juices run clear, 15-20 minutes.

Eat.

Yum.

The coating on this chicken actually stays on the chicken while it's frying, unlike some coatings I've tried that fall off when you try to turn the chicken over. I was happy with it and Keith liked it, so a small victory there in the I Hate To Cook wars.

What's for Dinner?

I don't know but as I'm sitting here working on some stuff and glancing up at the computer from time to time, checking the latest Yahoo stories, this one leapt right out at me about the Pinnacles Monument being declared a National Park.

I don't think I've ever been to the Pinnacles but couldn't they have used a picture that wasn't quite so rude? The formation on the left hand side looks just like a, well, you know what it looks just like. Yikes! Pornography in our national parks!

Well, maybe they will get even more visitors to the park now that this picture is all over the internet!

Anyway, dinner.

It has been quite the disaster around here lately. I don't like to cook anyway and the recipes I've tried over the past week have all been absolutely horrible. I know a big part of it is me and the fact that I don't have the patience for cooking and am getting to where I just hate the thought of it, but we certainly can't afford to eat out every night, as appealing as that thought is right now. If I could eat all the carbs in pizza, I'd just stock the freezer with DiGiorno, but that really isn't an option. Every other frozen type food is just as bad, so many of them are pasta based and loaded with carbs, not to mention the sodium. I told Keith we might just start having tacos each and every night, because at least I can buy low carb tortillas. I'm sure we'd get awful sick of tacos after a while, but at least they come out edible.

I suggested that maybe Keith could cook dinner once in a while since he's not working right now, but that might be even worse than me cooking. He doesn't believe in recipes and makes some pretty disgusting looking stuff for his breakfast sometimes, mixing whatever is in the fridge with his eggs. Then he complains later about his stomach not feeling so good.

So, what to do? I don't know but here it is hours before it's time for dinner and I'm already dreading the thought of having to cook it.

Cooking When You Hate To Cook

What to do? Once again I have decided that I really do not like to cook. I know some women (and men, too) find their creative side in the kitchen and enjoy all that slicing and dicing and stirring and sauteing, but I don't. There are so many other things I'd rather be doing, even cleaning the toilet beats cooking any day.

But we can't afford to go out to eat every night nor can we afford to hire a private chef so somebody has to make a meal here and there and that somebody is me. Keith could probably do some of the cooking but he is one of those let's dump as much stuff as we can find in the cupboards into one pot kind of cook and while he tries his best his concoctions are not all that appetizing. Recipe? We don't need no stinkin' recipe!

However, he is very good at cooking omelettes but who wants eggs every night?

Wait, eggs are cheap, so maybe...

No, we'd get really sick of eggs every night.

Anyway. If we could still eat the fun stuff like pasta and rice I might be a little more inspired to cook but when it's basically some kind of meat and vegetables every night, well...it's just another chore. And then after you eat, another chore in having to clean it all up.

I did find a recipe for pork chops that is easy and tasty and since I found Farmer John boneless pork chops at Winco I've never bought any other store's pork chops cause Farmer John raises some very tender piggies and I haven't had a bad chop yet.

Cola Pork Chops
4 pork chops- I use the thick chops and cut off every bit of that nasty fat before cooking.
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup coke
1 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste.

1/ Preheat the oven to 350.
2/ Mix together the ketchup, cola and brown sugar
3/ spray a baking pan with cooking spray, put the chops in the pan, spread the ketchup mixture over the chops and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
4/ Cover the pan with foil and bake for about 1 hour or less if you use thinner chops.
5/ Eat. If there is liquid in the pan it's good poured over the chops.

This would be good with chicken, too, just bake according to whether they are skinless boneless (not so long) or if you like your chicken with bones in it (bake longer).

Here is the recipe for macaroni salad. This was from a retro barbecue cookbook and has that genuine 1950's macaroni salad taste.

8 ounces macaroni- the little tube shaped traditional macaroni salad size, whatever that's called.
3/4 cups mayonnaise
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp sweet pickle relish
3 tbsp finely chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
1 cup baby peas- I don't know baby peas from adult peas so I just used some thawed frozen peas. I don't think canned would work too well for this, too mushy.
4 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1/ cook the macaroni according to package directions, drain well, rinse, and cool.
2/ In a medium bowl mix together the mayonnaise, salt, pickle relish, and onion.
3/ In a large bowl combine the cooled macaroni, celery, and green pepper.
And now here is where they left out part of the instructions and don't tell you when to mix the mayo stuff in with the macaroni but here is where I mixed it all together.
4/ After mixing in the mayo stuff, gently toss in the peas and eggs.
5/ Chill well before serving.


I liked this recipe even though I'm not supposed to eat macaroni.