Taco Bell is bringing back its tasty Rolled Chicken Tacos, and I may have stumbled upon an alternative version that we can make at home, without the deep fryer.  See what you think.

If you're a fan of the Rolled Chicken Tacos at Taco Bell, you know they feature shredded marinated all-white-meat chicken and taco ingredients rolled up in a corn tortilla, then deep fried. And they're pretty darn good.  But a home knock-off version may rival the taste without having to add extra calories by deep-frying. And you can switch it up to include a flour tortilla instead of corn if you want.

I don't know how parents do it.  For me, trying to please three semi-picky daughters with each meal is a total challenge, and it's hit or miss most days trying to invent something that they might all like.  The other day I looked in the fridge and saw part of a rotisserie chicken, half a bag of shredded cheddar cheese, and a package of flour tortillas, and instead of making regular tacos, I decided to create some rollups and bake them to see if I could crisp up the outside.   It worked!  The girls loved the results, so I'm making these winners every day from now until they're sick of them.

My girls like everything plain and they're not big fans of taco seasoning, so I left that out.  It's so easy.  Maybe your kids will like it too.

At-Home-Chicken-Roll-Up-Tacos

-- Add shredded chicken and shredded cheese to an open corn or flour tortilla

-- Season to taste, with taco seasoning, salt and pepper, or nothing at all

-- Roll up the tortilla tight

-- Put it in a pan and continue adding rolled-up tortillas until you fill up the pan

-- Bake at 425 for ten minutes or until the tacos are crispy to the touch.  If you have a convection oven, use it.  That's what I did and the tacos became crispy and maintained their shape when I took them out of the pan.  And no ingredients fell out!

-- Dip the rollups in taco sauce, cheese sauce, guacamole, or whatever makes you happy.  My plain Janes didn't use any sauce and ate them, well, plain.  

If you'd rather go for the fast food version, Chewboom says the Rolled Chicken Tacos are back at Taco Bell for its seasonal menu, served with a choice of guacamole, nacho cheese, spicy ranch, sour cream, or salsa dipping sauce. It varies by location, and the Rolled Chicken Tacos will be available for a limited time through the month of December.

Keep this little idea handy for football parties, and for regular ole Wednesday nights too.  It will make people happy, you can tailor it to your cravings, and you don't have to leave the house to get it.  That's a win.

But if you do mess it up, there's a Taco Bell nearby to save the day.

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