Time for a little more junk food before you begin that P90X workout resolution!

SHEESH! How did it get to be New Year's Eve already? It kind of snuck up on me. So late in the afternoon, I dashed to the grocery store in my pajamas (covered mostly by my coat), snow boots, and a festive tuke, along with the rest of the inhabitants of the North Country, to pick up party provisions. Of course, our party involves me watching my beloved Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper on CNN while my roommate is already snoring over there on the loveseat! Tee hee.

But I did prepare a couple of  Tex-Mex recipes that I found on Pinterest for our snacking and dining pleasure this evening. Both were easy to make, though one was just okay and the other was quite good and worth making again.

For our snack, I made something they called "Cowboy Caviar." It's comprised of two cans of (drained) Mexicorn, one can of Ro-tel (regular or hot), two cups shredded cheddar, six sliced green onions, and one cup each of mayonnaise and sour cream. After I combined these things, I tasted it, and it was kind of bland, so I added a teaspoon of both granulated garlic and ground cumin, quite a few shakes of hot sauce, a tablespoon of lime juice, and a can of ranch-style beans. That made it much tastier, though still not anywhere near the best version of this kind of thing. Plus, I didn't like how the shredded cheese gets kind of slimy in the dip. I would not make this again. I would make this or this instead.

Then for our dinner, I made some easy buffalo chicken taquitos that were pretty yummy. The only changes I made were to use the whole package of cream cheese, buttermilk instead of regular milk, and BBQ rub instead of Mrs. Dash and Cajun seasoning. I got a dozen the size of burritos, which were great for a meal, but for an appetizer or party snack, I would use less filling in each tortilla and roll them into skinnier taquitos.







Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
(Source: Real Women of Philadelphia via Pinterest)

2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash
1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (I used 1 1/4 teaspoons BBQ rub instead of Mrs. Dash and Cajun seasoning)
4 ounces cream cheese (I used one 8 oz. package)

1/3 cup Frank's hot sauce

1/3 cup milk (I used buttermilk)

4 cups chicken, cooked and shredded (I used a deboned deli chicken)
12 soft taco flour tortillas
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small sauce pot over medium low heat, melt butter. Add Mrs. Dash, garlic powder and Cajun seasoning. Stir to combine and cook for one minute. Add cream cheese and stir until melted and completely combined with butter and spices. Whisk in hot sauce and milk and simmer for 5 – 8 minutes. Add salt to taste. Combine chicken and sauce.

Lay out a tortilla; fill with about 1/4 to 1/3 cup chicken and two tablespoons of mozzarella cheese. Tightly roll up taquito and place on a greased baking sheet; repeat until chicken is gone. Brush taquitos with vegetable oil on all sides. Bake for 15 – 18 minutes; rotate them every five minutes, until golden brown. Serve with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks (optional).