Hot Bar at Home: Week 2 — Chicken Taquitos, Green Goddess Sauce, Southwest Salad and Cinnamon Protein Balls

Ingredients

• 2 cup cooked shredded chicken
• 0.5 cup Mexican-blend or cheddar cheese (shredded)
• 1 small container Greek yogurt (For the taquitos; container size not specified)
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 10 small corn tortillas (Source gives 8–10 tortillas)
• avocado oil (for shallow-pan frying; amount not specified)
• 1 cup cilantro (packed)
• 0.25 cup fresh dill
• 2 green onions
• 0.5 cup Greek yogurt (For the sauce)
• 0.25 cup mayonnaise
• 1 lemon lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
• 2 garlic (small cloves)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• apple cider vinegar (a splash)
• water (a splash, as needed to thin the sauce)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• lime juice (optional adjustment mentioned in the method; the ingredient list specifies lemon juice)
• 4 cup romaine lettuce (chopped; source gives 3–4 cups)
• 1 cup corn
• 1 cup black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 red bell pepper (chopped)
• 1 avocado (cubed)
• cilantro (a handful, chopped)
• 0.333 cup cotija or feta cheese (crumbled)
• LAV Lemon Apple Cider Dressing or cilantro green goddess sauce (for dressing)
• tortilla chips (optional, crushed for extra crunch)
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1 serving vanilla protein powder (serving size and nutrition depend on the brand)
• 0.5 cup creamy almond or cashew butter
• 0.25 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• salt (a pinch)
• coconut oil (melted; add a few tablespoons at a time if the protein-ball mixture is dry or crumbly)

Steps

1. 1

   For the chicken taquitos, add the shredded chicken, shredded cheese, Greek yogurt, taco seasoning, salt, and pepper to a bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined.

2. 2

   Spoon some of the chicken mixture onto each small corn tortilla. Roll each tortilla tightly and place it seam-side down while preparing the remaining taquitos.

3. 3

   Add avocado oil to a shallow pan and bring it to medium heat.

4. 4

   Add the taquitos to the pan one at a time and lightly fry until crispy, flipping each taquito halfway through.

5. 5

   Alternatively, cook the taquitos in an air fryer at 400°F until crisp.

6. 6

   Remove the fried taquitos from the pan and let them cool on a paper towel. Pack them up for the week.

7. 7

   For the cilantro green goddess sauce, add the cilantro, dill, green onions, Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and a splash of water as needed to a blender or food processor.

8. 8

   Blend the sauce until completely smooth and creamy.

9. 9

   If the sauce is thicker than desired, add another splash of water and blend again.

10. 10

    Taste the sauce and adjust with more lime, salt, or cilantro. Keep it in a jar or deli container in the refrigerator and drizzle as desired.

11. 11

    For the Southwest salad, add the chopped romaine, corn, rinsed and drained black beans, chopped red bell pepper, cubed avocado, chopped cilantro, and crumbled cotija or feta cheese to a large bowl.

12. 12

    Toss all of the salad ingredients together with LAV Lemon Apple Cider Dressing or the cilantro green goddess sauce.

13. 13

    Divide the salad among individual containers and add crushed tortilla chips on top.

14. 14

    Optionally, wait to add the avocado until right before eating; the author also says it is fine pre-mixed.

15. 15

    For the cinnamon protein balls, add the oat flour, vanilla protein powder, almond or cashew butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt to a bowl.

16. 16

    Mix until a dough forms. If the mixture is too dry or crumbly, add a few tablespoons of melted coconut oil at a time until it comes together.

17. 17

    Roll the mixture into small balls.

18. 18

    Refrigerate the protein balls until firm, then store them chilled.

Notes

The source does not specify the shallow-frying oil quantity, frying time, number of servings, exact Greek-yogurt container size, or the refrigeration duration for the protein balls. The sauce method says to adjust with more lime even though the ingredient list specifies lemon juice. The taquitos, sauce, salad, and protein balls can be stored as separate meal-prep components and mixed or matched throughout the week.

Nutrition per serving

• meal prep
• Mexican-inspired
• appetizer
• main
• snack
• air-fryer option
• no-bake
• vegetarian salad