When cutting or trimming chicken, keep it seperate from everything else [cutting boards and other vegetables] and use a seperate knife to avoid any potential cross contamination. Wash hands regularly as well. Below is a great example of what your chicken should look like upon purchase.
Wash and trim fat from chicken.
Place all items in the Boiled Chicken category in a pot.
Boil chicken for 20-25 minutes. Stick a knife in the thickest part of breasts. If fluid runs clean, your chicken is done. If pink fluid rises, your chicken isn't done. Boil 5 minutes more.
After chicken is fully cooked, place in a separate bowl and allow it to cool just slightly.
Finely finger shread your chicken.
Once shreadded, take 2 tbs of your chicken broth and pour it on your chicken.
Sprinkle moistened chicken lightly with the spices you used in your chicken boil, except Mexican Oregeno and lime juice. Also add salt to taste. You'll need more salt than any other spice but be careful not to over-salt. Mix shreadded chicken.
Repeat this same process once more and add 1 cup of shreadded Mexican 3 Cheese.
Heat tortillas just slightly in the microwave for 10 seconds. Place chicken mixture on the warmed tortillas end closest to you. Add a line of cheese to the top of your chicken. Press chicken down to firm and begin to roll your tortilla up tightly away from you.
Run a toothpick through the end of the tortilla roll as shown in the photo below. You may need 2 toothpicks to hold your Taquitos if you've over packed them.
Lightly spray the visible parts of the toothpicks with Pam to keep them from burning. That's the yellow coloration your seeing in the picture above around the toothpick. It's Pam Butter Spray. I was out of Pam Olive Oil Spray. Or you can soak the toothpicks in water for 3 minutes.
At the ends of your Taquitos you'll notice empty spaces. Fill those holes with chicken and pack in tightly.
Place on no stick or lined and sprayed cookie sheet and sprinkle each lightly with lime juice.
For an even crisper roll, you can brush a basic Garlic Cilantro Olive Oil blend over the tops and bake. For a softer, more chewy roll, you can add shredded cheese to the tops before baking.
Cook at 425° for 20-25 minutes flipping over once during baking. Since your chicken is pre-cooked, you're only looking to melt your cheese and crisp up your tortillas. Watch them closely.
Line a serving tray with shreadded cabbage and sprinkle with chopped chives or Cilantro.
REMOVE ALL TOOTHPICKS and place Taquitos on plate.
Garnish with tomatoes, onions and Cilantro.
Serve with a variety of salsas, sour cream and guacamole.
Authors Note: A delicious recipe for Guacamole can be found on my recipe page under, "Mike's Fiesta Guacamole."
https://cookpad.com/us/recipes/345482-mikes-fiesta-guacamole
