Chicken Flautas and Guacamole

I wanted to make an authentic Mexican meal for my husband's Birthday, and since he always orders flautas at a Mexican restaurant, I decided to give them a try.  I have to tell you, I am not a fan of Mexican, but these were delicious!  I can't wait to make them again.  Be sure when making the guacamole that you don't puree the onion, just dice it.  The juice from the onion is too much if it is cut too fine.  Also, be sure to serve Margaritas with your flautas, you can't have an authentic Mexican meal without those!

Chicken Flautas Recipe Ingredients:


· 15 small flour or corn tortillas
· 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, shredded or pulled into strips
· 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
· 1 large tomato, diced
· 1 small onion, minced (about 1/2 cup of minced onion)
· 1/2 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
· 1/2 cup olive oil
· 1 teaspoon chili powder
· salt
· pepper
· sour cream and/or guacamole, if desired
· 15 toothpicks

Directions:
1. Add a little water to a frying pan, heated over medium heat, on the stove. Place the boneless, skinless chicken breasts (whole, not yet cut or shredded) in the water, and simmer until they are cooked. Flip at some point to better cook each side of the chicken. Once cooked, cut the heat off, and remove the chicken from the pan and allow it to cool.

2. Once cooled, pull the chicken apart into small shreds with hands or a fork. Set this in a bowl. Chop the green pepper, mince the onion, and cut the tomato into small pieces. Also grate the cheese, and set this aside. Pour the water out of the frying pan, and lightly grease it with a teaspoon of olive oil, and tun the heat on to medium. Add the cut veggies to the pan, and saute them for about 5 minutes.

3. Add the already cooked and shredded chicken to the pan, and sprinkle the veggies and chicken with a little salt, pepper, and a teaspoon of chili powder. Stir everything around for another minute or two, and then turn off the heat.

4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a pot on the stove, heat the remaining (about 1/2 cup) olive oil. Once hot, drop each tortilla into the oil, but remove it after about one second, using a fork or metal spatula. This will make the tortillas soft and they will cook better. Set the oil-covered tortillas on a tray. Place toothpicks in a bowl of water to make them saturated and moist so that they will not burn in the oven.

5. Spoon some of the chicken and veggie mix onto the middle of each tortilla, sprinkle a little cheese on top of that, and roll each tortilla up tightly (but not tightly enough to rip the tortilla) around the filling, and put a wet toothpick through the middle of each chicken flauta to keep it rolled. Once all are prepared, cook them, set side by side, on a cookie sheet or oven pan in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, until the tortillas begin to brown slightly.

6. Remove from oven, remove toothpicks, and serve with sour cream and/or guacamole.



Guacamole

Prep Time:  20 min

Ingredients:

· 3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
· 1 lime, juiced
· 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
· 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
· 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
· 1/2 medium onion, diced
· 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
· 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
· 1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.