Baked Chicken and Spinach Flautas or Taquitos

I'm not quite sure if there is a difference between a flauta and a taquito.  I have a sneaking suspicion that it may have something to do with the tortilla.  Anyone know? 

I suppose it doesn't really matter.  What I made last night was amazing for a few reasons.  1.  It was SO GOOD.  2.  It was baked and not deep fried!  3.  As always it was made completely from scratch and organic!!!  4.  It was relatively healthy!

Flautas are my "go to" dish at Mexican restaurants.  It's my default dish to compare Mexican Restaurants.  Just like "Pad See Ew" is my default dish at Thai Restaurants.  I know, I'm weird.  Whatever.  I never really imagined that I would ever make flautas at home because they're deep fried.  I don't really like doing the deep frying thing at home because I don't have a deep fryer, for some reason I hate filling pots with oil, and I really don't like getting spattered with oil which inevitably happens to me the 1 or 2 times a year I decide to roll up my sleeves and deep fry something (usually lumpia). 



Sorry I didn't get a fantastic plating picture, but trust me.  They were delicious!!!



When I saw this recipe that my friend Erin posted on Pinterest I thought it was too good to be true!  What's more, it looked really simple!  So I tried it out last night.  I thought it might actually have a chance to come out crispy because my homemade tortillas actually use a considerable amount of coconut oil.  By the way, coconut oil makes for fantastic tortillas!!  I've tried making them with butter, but the coconut oil seems to help them hold together better.  I'm not really the lard using type even though I know if you can get your hands on grass fed organic lard it probably won't kill you as quickly as everyone else thinks. :)

Anyways, I think I baked mine for slightly too long as the ends of a few of the flautas got a bit singed.  Just be sure to check yours periodically.  I also didn't flip mine over, because when I did I found that the flipped ones started looking less secure and might have opened up.  They got nice and crispy without flippage anyways.

I didn't really change this recipe, so I don't feel comfortable posting it in it's entirety, but feel free to click over to Healthy Delicious for these amazing Baked Chicken and Spinach Flautas.

What I did differently:
- I used cheddar cheese because I didn't have any Mexican cheese on hand
- I used baby kale because I didn't have baby spinach on hand.
- use my own tortillas (homemade tortilla recipe can be found here) with coconut oil. 
- I didn't simmer the chicken in beer.  I just boiled the chicken and then shredded it.
- I mixed together the cheese, chicken, spinach (kale), and jalapenos after they had all been cooked, for ease of flauta stuffing

Make sure:

- to grease your cookie sheet/sheet pan with some coconut oil before you lay the flautas on there seam side down

- cut your tortillas in half!  I think the fact that there was only 1 layer of tortilla surrounding the filling helped make the crispy tortilla mission successful.

Serve with some fresh guacamole and enjoy!!  Jon poured some store bought tomatillo salsa on his and seemed to like that too. 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Dear God,

   please help my baby come soon.  If it's your will.  Please.  Thank you!  Amen.