Chicken Flautas

I love food.

I'm also a huge fan of Mexican/Latin inspired dishes - nothing is more refreshing than the combination of cilantro and lime. It's earthy, sour, fresh... and the drinks that have these ingredients incorporated also turn out amazing. Way too many of my dishes lately have these two ingredients. 

This is my take on an old favorite, white-sauce chicken enchiladas - except all the outside goodness is slow cooked for a few hours before being rolled into a tortilla and thrown into the oven. This gives the dish not only a creamy texture, but also crisps the tortillas up.

Chili-Verde Chicken Flautas - you will need:

- 2 Chicken Breasts

- 1 small can of Green Chili (I used the roasted variety)

- 8 oz of Cream Cheese

- 1 Cup of Pepperjack Cheese (shredded)

- 1/2 Cup of White Onion (chopped)

- 1/3 Cup of Chicken Broth

- 1/2 Tsp of Each of the Following: Cumin, Chili Powder and Cayenne Pepper

- 2 Garlic Cloves (chopped... add more if you love garlic like I do)

- 1 Large Can of Sliced Olives

- Package of Flour Tortillas (I used Mission soft tacos)

For Garnish:

- Bunch of Cilantro, chopped

- Sliced Avocado

1. In a medium size crock pot, place all the ingredients into the crock pot minus the Pepperjack Cheese, Olives and Tortillas. Do not cut chicken as it will be pulled apart at the end of the cooking process.

2. Put on low, and cook for 4 to 6 hours or until the chicken is heated through. I stirred mine a few times during those hours, just to ensure the cream cheese would become smooth.

3. Add Olives and Pepperjack Cheese, cook for additional 20 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 400.

5. Put aluminum foil into an 13x9 Glass pan, this will help for an easier clean up.

6. Place about 1/4 Cup of Chicken Mixture into middle of tortilla, and roll up as tight as you can without the filling coming out both ends.

7. Repeat until all of the chicken mixture and tortillas are gone.

8. Bake at 400 Degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the ends of the tortillas begin to golden.

9. Serve with Refried Beans and Rice.