Lime Chicken Taquitos

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE lime? Really, it is an obsession. Lately I have been putting it on everything. These taquitos are fairly easy to make a DELICIOUS. This is a new favorite for both Charles and myself. I made them for Ella's birthday and again last night. I started with a recipe form my cousins blog and made a few minor changes. It originally called for two cups of shredded chicken and no rice. Rice is cheaper than chicken so I cut out one cup of chicken and replaced it with 1 cup of rice. Just as good. This recipe includes all of my changes.

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 cup green salsa
juice of 1 fresh lime
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
3 TB chopped cilantro
2 TB sliced green onions
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
1cup brown rice
1 cup grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:
Cook ½ cup brown rice in 2 cups chicken stock. Make sure to leave plenty of time for the rice to cook. It usually takes 45-55 min.
Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.
(You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.)

There are two ways in which to prepare the tortillas, I have done both. Placing them in oil first makes them crunchier but both ways taste really good.

Method 1:
Place about 1-2 inches of oil in a pan and heat. When hot place tortillas in one at a time for about 5-10 flip and heat other side. Take out of pan and place on paper towels to help absorb extra grease. Repeat for the rest of tortillas. (I used about twenty.)

Method 2:
Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it.

Place 2-3 TB of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.
Then roll them as tight as you can.
Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other.
Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister (You don’t need to do this is you use method 1) and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.
Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.