Quick & Healthy: Chicken and Frijoles Refritos

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Multicultural Inspiration from... Mexico

 

In the name of not overloading myself or my audience on calories, I've decided to be a good chef and throw in a "Quick & Healthy" series of posts to my blog. Basically, I eat quite healthily the majority of the time. I use a lot of fresh veggies and grains in my day to day cooking, and indulge in desserts and sweets a couple of times a week (because life's too short to skip dessert all together!). My lunches and dinners during the week are usually of the quick and healthy variety, because of the odd hours I work, and because I like to balance out my cheeky post-dinner treats with supper healthy eating during the day.

I really love Mexican food, as you saw when I went to Mi Corazon. The reason I love it is because it actually is quite easy to make it in a healthy way, so it doesn't have to just be for special occasions or breaking the "diet." So for my first Quick & Healthy installation, I bring you my healthier, quicker, mid-week version of a Mexican dinner: Chicken with Frijoles Refritos (re-fried beans).

To get this underway for two people, preheat the oven to 180°C and spray a baking dish with a little olive oil. Take 2 medium sized chicken breasts and trim off all excess fat, place them in the baking tray, and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Then turn the oven off and leave them to cool long enough to handle. Once slightly cooled, shred the chicken, pop it back into the baking dish, cover with foil, and place back into the oven until ready to use later. 

Then grab out the remainder of your ingredients...

• 150g diced zucchini
• 150g diced red capsicum
• 120g diced mushroom
• 150g diced tomato
• 1 small diced brown onion
• half an avocado, sliced
• 300g of refried beans, what ever brand you prefer. I like the Old El Paso type because they are a lot lower in fat and salt than a lot of other types.
• 60g tasty cheese, chopped up in "chunks"
• 5 tablespoons of salsa

Heat a large non-stick fry pan with a little spray oil, and add in the zucchini, capsicum, mushroom, tomato and onion. 

Cook for a few minutes, or until the veggies start to soften and brown slightly.

Once the veggies have started to soften, add in the salsa and stir through.

Next, in with the refried beans - stir to combine, until they're heated through.

Then, in with the cheese. Turn the heat off and just mix it through so it doesn't stick to the fry pan.

I am very aware that dinner is starting to slightly resemble dog food at this point - it may not look pretty, but it tastes great! Ok, now get the mix into a bowl...

... top with the chicken...

... and finally, the avocado!

And there ya go! It's great fresh, but if you're like me and often need to eat at work, it's just as good thrown into a tub and re-heated at work - just pack the avocado in a separate tub and add it in after you've reheated it all! 


What are your favourite quick and healthy meals?