Good Food Fridays: Flautas Bien Mexicanas!

We love Mexican food.  We love all food really.  And as opposed to some who might turn away a new dish because it’s desconocido, we almost always want to dig in and see what it tastes like.  There’s almost nothing that we won’t try to eat… jajaja, okay so that sounds pretty bad, and sad really.  ¡Por eso estamos como estamos, verdad… LOL!  But anyway when it comes to making our own food we are just a little bit más picky.  That’s also why I think you’re really going to like this new four week mini series I’m calling Good Food Fridays.

I’ll let you in on a little secret desde ya – there will be giveaways.

Four of them over the next four weeks.

So back to the point.  Ever since my parents moved outside of Houston we’ve been shopping at one of those signature Kroger grocery stores next to their house every Sunday.  We drive about an hour to go visit them almost every week and on our way back we almost always make a stop at their neighborhood Kroger late at night to get our groceries for the week.  They always have great deals on their food and Anjelica really likes that they have a huge selection of specialty items like organic products and other things that I don’t really understand.  Yo no sé.  I just pay the bill.  Anyway, when the chance came up to work with Kroger on this food series we literally jumped at the opportunity.

Here’s how it works

For the next four Fridays we will be highlighting four very Mexican dishes and/or sides that we’ve made completely with items purchased at Kroger.  This week we made Chicken Flautas!

To make Chicken Flautas
You will need the following: corn tortillas, crema mexicana (Mexican sour cream), queso fresco (Mexican fresh cheese), lettuce, tomato, onion, cooking oil.  Spices: chicken bouillon, salt and pepper. Optional spices – cayenne pepper, paprika.  Others items and cooking utensils: toothpicks, tongs, comal (cast iron griddle) or any skillet, stockpot, frying pan (or any pot or pan used for frying).

THE PROCESS (as outlined by Anjelica)

1. Begin by boiling your chicken in a stockpot adding chicken bouillon (I use about 1 tablespoon per 2lbs of chicken). Quick tip: if you are vegan or making large portions you can substitute chicken with rustic potatoes. Using the same cooking process.
2. Once the chicken is cooked drain the water from the stockpot and shred the chicken.  Add a little salt and pepper (or paprika and cayenne pepper) to add the taste of your preference.
3. On a hot griddle begin to slightly heat tortillas, have tooth picks and your shredded chicken ready nearby.  Heat the tortillas only enough to make them flexible enough to roll.
4. Now add your contents to your warm tortillas and roll.  Inside your tortilla you will add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of shredded chicken.  Roll the tortilla.  Use a toothpick to secure the rolled tortilla.  Repeat this process until you have enough flautas for all of your family.
5. In a frying pan pour about 3 cups of cooking oil bringing the heat to a medium-high.  Test the oil by putting in a piece of chicken.  If the chicken crackles and pops a little, the oil is ready.
6. Using tongs, begin to fry the flautas to a light brown color.
7. Using paper towels, line the inside of a deep container.  Place your cooked flautas in a vertical position to allow proper draining.
8. Garnish flautas with lettuce, tomatoes, crema mexicana, and queso fresco crumbled with thinly cut onions mixed into it.  And enjoy!

Oh yes, and the Giveaway!         

Each week we will be giving away a $75 gift card to Kroger.  To enter you must: 1) leave a comment on this blog post with your email address included (don’t worry it won’t be public) so that I can get in contact with you if you win, and 2) LIKE my page on Facebook, on or before 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20, 2013.  The winner of the first $75 gift card will be announced here on this blog post by Friday, March 22, 2013.  ¡Buena suerte!

This is a sponsored post.  The Kroger Company is administering the giveaway, and is also the sponsor for this post on Juan of Words.  To learn more about Kroger visit them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter @KrogerCo.