Shelly's Recipe

BAKED CHIPOTLE BEEF TAQUITOS

Category: Beef

3 cup cooked, shredded beef roast
4 oz green chilies, undrained
1/4-1/2 tsp minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (I do 1/4 for mild spiciness)
3 tsp adobo sauce from the canned chipotle peppers (see below for note)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1 t chili powder
Zest from one lime
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 (about 12 oz) pkg Queso Fresco or Mexican blend shredded cheese
6 inch white or yellow corn tortillas (about 20)
Olive oil or cooking spray
Kosher salt
Guacamole and/or sour cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Take your shredded beef and slice any larger pieces across the grain so you have pieces about 1/2-1 inch long. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Mince it up as needed. And be careful, they're spicy! Don't touch your nostrils or your eyes, or pretty much anything else before washing your hands very well. Combine chilies, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, garlic, coriander, cumin, chili powder and lime zest and juice in a bowl. After stirring to combine, gently toss together with shredded beef.

Wrap a pile of about 10 tortillas at a time in damp paper towels and microwave for 1 minute to soften.

Working with one tortilla at a time, crumble about 1 tbsp queso fresco in a line across the center of the tortilla. Top with 1-2 tbsp shredded beef mixture and roll that baby up.

Place seam-side down on a lightly oiled/sprayed baking sheet. Use cooking spray or lightly brush olive oil on the top of each one. Lightly sprinkle kosher salt on the top of each one. Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Take out of the oven and let them cool for just a few minutes. Serve with guacamole and/or sour cream.

NOTES: Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce: Since I only use a small portion of the can, I take the leftovers and after deseeding the peppers, I blend it all together with the sauce and then freeze it in 1 tsp portions. Then it's easy to pull out for recipes.

To prepare the peppers for the taquitos: pull out a pepper, trying to leave as much of the sauce as you can in the can. Slit the pepper open to remove the seeds by scraping them out with a small knife or open it up and run it under a slow stream of water to wash the seeds out. Be careful as the flesh is tender and can wash off too!