Chicken and Spinach Flautas

Chicken and Spinach Flautas

Over the Labor Day long weekend, some of our friends hosted an amazing Mexican fiesta potluck. I was in charge of bringing tortillas, and as always, I ended up buying too much. So at the end of the night, I had to carry my miscalculation back home with me.. and this gave my brain the new task of coming up with recipes that would help me finish up my tortillas. Luckily tortillas are so versatile. I ended up using them for wraps, made quesadillas, but another winner dinner that came out of it, was baked flautas.
I've also been good about prepping meals over the weekends and finishing them of on weekdays. And so I made the filling for the flautas before hand, and rolled and baked the evening of the dinner. This amazing recipe is also a under-30 min wonder that I can't wait to share with you all. Pair it with salsa & guac, and enjoy an amazing Mexican meal night. It is an amazing finger food idea, although, when made in abundance, it serves as a lovely quick week-night dinner dish as well.

Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless chicken
• 2 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 3 cups baby spinach
• Medium size tortillas (8 inches)
• 4 Cheese Mexican blend
• Butter
• Salsa (optional)
• Sour cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Boil chicken in 2 cups of water. Add bay leaf, cumin powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder, ginger garlic paste, paprika, thyme, and salt. Let it cook for about 15 mins. You can pork a fork in the chicken and check if it needs longer. If it does, add about 1/4 cup and let it cook for another 5 mins. 
2. Remove the chicken from the liquid and shred it. (Liquid remaining should be about 1/2 cup)
3. Add chopped jalapeños and spinach to the same broth and cook on low heat for about 2-3 mins or until spinach is wilted. Now add the shredded chicken to the mixture. 
4. Cut the tortillas in half. Apply butter on the outer side of the tortilla. 
5. Spoon the non-buttered side with about 1 tbsp of chicken mixture along the edge of the tortilla. Repeat with cheese. 
6. Roll the tortilla up, starting with the straight edge. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 with remaining tortillas. 
8. Bake for 10 mins, then turn over and bake for another 10 mins or until crispy. Serve with salsa, guacamole or sour cream

As always, I hope you enjoy this quick wonder in your kitchen! Feel free to leave suggestions, comments or questions. Until then, Live, Love, Laugh and Eat! Oh yes, EAT!