Taquitos (Rolled Tacos)

This has to be one of the biggest hits of any easy meal I fix. For starters, the refried beans are usually left over from another meal, and the salad and taquitos themselves fix up in a jiffy. Taquitos are usually served with guacamole, and making that is also fast and easy.

The reason taquitos are so easy is that I don’t make them from scratch, although you’re welcome to do so if you want. But for this to be an easy meal, I prefer to buy a box of them at Costco, take the number I need from the inside re-sealable plastic bag, and put the box back in the freezer. OK, call me a cheater. But we all deserve a night off once in a while, don’t we?

According to the box, you can microwave the taquitos, heat them in the oven, or fry them in a skillet or deep fryer. I prefer the latter, but of course you can do whatever you want.

I heat the oil to 375 degrees, and fry them only about three minutes, drain and serve. So have the other stuff ready first! In the photo, the taquitos are served with refried beans, guacamole, a pickled jalapeno, and a little salad made of lettuce, tomato, onion, and cilantro. A Mexican salsa, like Herdez Red, makes a good dressing for the salad.

If you want to make the rolled tacos from scratch, here’s what to do.

To keep the corn tortillas from cracking when you roll them, you need to soften them for a few seconds in hot oil to make them pliable. Make a filling of left over roast beef pulled into strings, or hamburger. Flavor the meat with garlic salt, onion powder, chile powder, and a little cumin. Roll the tortillas around some of the mixture, and secure with a toothpick. Then continue as described above.

You can also make the filling with chicken, fish, or shrimp. Or lobster if you got paid yesterday….