I absolutely LOVE fresh lime. I love the smell and the taste it adds to any recipe! This was my toddlers’ first time using a hand juicer and it was a pretty fun experience for them. Turning the lime around on the juicer while pushing down hard enough to get juice was challenging, but when they picked it up in both hands and SQUEEZED with all their little strength there was a satisfying stream of juice. Little miss two enjoyed tasting these limes as well, but she said they were spicy and kept asking why?? Cooking with toddlers can be so entertaining!

For your eating pleasure I’m attaching a recipe for Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos which uses fresh lime juice. I just made a HUGE batch of these last week (quadrupled the measurements) and stuck them all in the freezer to save for when baby comes. We had them for dinner one night already and they were delicious with guacamole! My husband was oohing and aahing: his quote was “I could eat this for dinner every night” 🙂 So basically you should make these sometime and your kids may enjoy squeezing the lime to add the juice!!

Although my husband and I absolutely love these taquitos my kids have not been very adventurous. Mister four prefers a “plain” quesadilla – which means a rolled up tortilla completely plain with no cheese or anything. So he asked me to scrape out the filling from these when we had them for dinner, and I encouraged him to try it but eventually scraped it out and he ate the crispy tortilla without the goodness. So sad! He is missing out! (I ate the filling – ha!) And little miss two just shrugged her shoulders and filled up on rice and salad, passing up on the taquito completely.

But on the bright side I had a proud moment – both my kids ate the red peppers on their salad tonight! They love dipping veggies in salad dressing and it made me so happy that they chose to eat them! It was mister four’s first time ever eating a pepper. Yay!

Maybe your toddler will love these for dinner, but even if they don’t, I’d still recommend giving them a try!

Creamy Cilantro-Lime Chicken Taquitos

Ingredients

3 ounces cream cheese softened
1/4 cup green salsa
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
small flour or corn tortillas

Instructions

TODDLER TASK

Juice one lime using a hand juicer or squeezing with your hands!

ADULT TASKS

Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic. Once combined, stir in cilantro and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese; mix thoroughly.
Spoon 2-3 Tablespoons chicken mixture into lower third of a tortilla. Roll as tightly as you can.
Place rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden.
Serve with sour cream or guacamole.

Recipe Notes

Recipe from Seeded at the Table: Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

To freeze: Before baking, freeze taquitos in a single layer on a baking sheet for 20 minutes, then place in a labeled freezer bag and store up to 3 months. To bake frozen taquito (no need to thaw first): Preheat oven to 425F and bake for 15-20 minutes.