When I was a kid, I almost always took my lunch to school. Except, that is, on Taquito Thursday. Sure, some folks might have gotten excited about ‘Pizza Fridays’ but ‘Taquito Thursdays’ what really where it was at. In retrospect, these could not have been worse for us–deep fried corn tortillas stuffed with ground mystery meat beef and cheese. Oh, but they were good.

One day, not long ago, I went on the hunt for a healthier way to make these suckers. There had been this recipe floating around on Pinterest that I thought that I could adapt to make into just the perfect thing. Really though, it had me at the secret ingredient…beer.

Chicken and Spinach Baked Taquitos

{adapted for two from Healthy. Delicious.}

The Chicken
10 ounces {300 mL} beer
2 chicken breasts
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

The Stuffin’
1 green pepper {or jalapeño for those of y’all that live in a sane country}
a handful of spinach

The Wraps
4 corn tortillas
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup of a cheese that melts well {monterrey jack would be my preference}

Preheat your oven to 450°F/225°C.

In a medium sized pot on medium high heat, bring the beer to a boil and add your chicken breasts. Crank it down to medium and cook for about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a medium sized bowl when it’s finished. Using two forks, shred the chicken. Add all of  the yummy seasoning and mix well.

While the chicken is cooking, remove the seeds from your pepper and dice it up. After the chicken has been removed from the pot, add the pepper and your spinach to the beer and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. When the spinach is a bit wilted, remove from the heat and drain the beer.

Go ahead and grate your cheese so its ready for the assembly process. Cut each wrap in half, and, using a pastry brush, give it a light coat of olive oil. On the longest bit of the wrap, pile your chicken, spinach/pepper combo, and cheese. Roll it up and place seam side down on a lined baking sheet. Repeat for the rest of the wraps and then give the tops a brush of olive oil.

Pop it in the oven for about 8 minutes. Take the pan out and {carefully} flip them. Give the tops a brush of olive oil and return to the oven for about 8 more minutes or until they look appropriately crispy for your liking.

Serve with sour cream, salsa, and, if your feeling particularly hungry/ambitious, maybe some spanish rice or refried beans.