Chicken Fajita Burrito Bowls

I mean who doesn't love a good Mexican feast, right?  I certainly do!  But I'm also savvy enough to know that too many ... um... feasts brings out the clothes fairy and somehow my pants start shrinking. So the kids and I took a different approach to this and had a healthier version of a Mexican feast. We grilled the chicken, cut out the tortilla and replaced it with brown rice, added some healthy veggies (still trying to eat that rainbow), a pop of zing with some zesty condiments and even managed to squeeze in a little creamy light sour cream and of course some very flavorful crunchies! 

We actually did have every intent to put these in bowls - ha.  But we were trying to spread everything out pretty so we had to settle for plates.  This super healthy meal went over like a champ with my littles, and I was a little bit surprised because they sort of raised their eyebrows when I told them we were going the brown rice route.  I am thankful, though, of how they get on board when I tell them that we are trying to do a recipe makeover to make something healthier.  They almost take it on as a personal mission.  #teamwork! Another thing about this meal is that you could have all of these elements made up ahead of time and throw this together for some amazing lunches! 

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Ingredients:

• Southwestern marinated chicken breasts
• I purchased a pack that came already seasoned - great time saver!
• Sweet corn niblets, drained or cut from the ear
• Canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• seasoned with cumin
• Red and yellow bell pepper strips
• Fajita seasoning
• Green onion tops, chopped
• Grape tomatoes, cut in half
• Caramelized onions
• Non-stick cooking spray 
• Tortilla strips
• I used the chili lime flavored ones 
• brown rice
• save time by using instant brown rice
• make it with chicken broth!  :) 
• Jarred taco sauce
• Jarred salsa verde 

Step-by-Step Photos:

SO MANY of these elements can be done ahead of time for a super quick dinner!
Drain a can of corn.

corn niblets, drained

Drain and rinse a can of black beans.  Season liberally with cumin for that great Mexican flavor.

black beans, drained and rinsed

I grabbed a handful of pepper strips from the freezer.  As I always say, the frozen ones break down faster, so they are perfect for this application.  I'm going to sauté them - but NOT in butter. I'm going to just use water.  Yep.  I'll keep adding water until they are soft.  As it cooks out, I'll add more.  I'm going for healthy, here.

red and yellow bell pepper strips in water

To add flavor to my pepper strips (since I'm not cooking them in butter or oil), I'm going to add some fajita seasoning to them.  This will really wake them up.

fajita seasoning 

 Chop some green onion tops.  They look really pretty if you slice them on the bias.

green onion tops, sliced thinly

 Cut some grape tomatoes.  These are the sweetest.  :)

grape tomatoes cut in half

To my bell peppers, I'm adding some caramelized onions.  Love, love, love caramelized onions.  Keep adding water if you need to.

caramelized onions, yellow and red bell peppers

While the veggies are still cooking down, let's cook the chicken.  I am preparing my cast iron grill pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Still trying to be healthy here.  

non-stick cooking spray

When the pan is really hot, add the southwestern seasoned chicken breasts.  You should hear it sizzle when you add them.  If you don't hear that, your pan is not hot enough.  Once you put them in there, don't mess with them.  Just leave them along for a while.  Allow the pan to do its thing so you can get some good grill marks.  They should release easily and not stick when they are ready to be flipped.

Southwestern seasoned chicken

Okay, let's do the other side.  I can't give you an exact cooking time.  It depends on the thickness of your chicken, your pan, the BTUs of your range, etc.

Chicken breasts cooking

Once your chicken are cooked through and the juices are clear (but please not overcooked), allow them to just rest while you are putting everything else together.

Chicken resting

I will say that you really should NOT open these until you are ready to use them.  Somehow if you open them just to "taste" them... they may evaporate straight out of the bag.  I know, right?  It didn't make sense to me, either.  :/ 

Here were the zip and zing we added to the top.  Yep, straight from the jar.

All you do is put a little of each item on the plates, slice the chicken, top it off with your crunchies and sauces, and away you go!

I'm sorry I didn't take a photo of the brown rice.  To save time, I used instant brown rice that I prepared with chicken broth to infuse extra flavor into it.  You can do that while your chicken is cooking.  If you make long cooking brown rice, start it first.

So here we have a gorgeous, balanced burrito bowl (plate?) that still gives us lots of flavor and crunchies, but a healthier version.

I hope you've enjoyed this recipe!  Here are some others I think you'll like:

Tiger Tail Pasta - a creamy, slightly spicy pasta dish with crawfish perfect for crowds. (could sub chicken)

Mexican Salsa - great summer fun!  Throw it all in the food processor and let it go!

Alice Springs Chicken - a favorite of a that steakhouse chain!

Mississippi Mud Puddles - great for grab-your-own parties!

Mojito Lime Mahi Mahi Tacos with Citrus Dressed Southwestern Slaw  - perfect for summer grilling!

Written Method:

SO MANY of these elements can be done ahead of time for a super quick dinner! 

• If you make long cooking brown rice, start it first. 
• Drain a can of corn.
• Drain and rinse a can of black beans.  
• Season liberally the beans with cumin for that great Mexican flavor.
• Grab a handful of pepper strips from the freezer.  Sauté them in water until they are soft.  As it cooks out, add more.   
• To add flavor to the pepper strips (since we are not cooking them in butter or oil), add some fajita seasoning to them.  This will really wake them up.
• Chop some green onion tops.  They look really pretty if you slice them on the bias.
• Cut some grape tomatoes.  These are the sweetest.  :) 
• To my bell peppers, add some caramelized onions.  Keep adding water if you need to.
• While the veggies are still cooking down, let's cook the chicken.  Prepare a cast iron grill pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Still trying to be healthy here.  
• When the pan is really hot, add the southwestern seasoned chicken breasts.  You should hear it sizzle when you add them.  If you don't hear that, your pan is not hot enough.  Once you put them in there, don't mess with them.  Just leave them along for a while.  Allow the pan to do its thing so you can get some good grill marks.  They should release easily and not stick when they are ready to be flipped. 
• If using instant brown rice, make it while chicken is cooking.  Prepare it with chicken broth to infuse extra flavor into it. 
• Okay, let's do the other side.  I can't give you an exact cooking time.  It depends on the thickness of your chicken, your pan, the BTUs of your range, etc. 
• Once your chicken are cooked through and the juices are clear (but please not overcooked), allow them to just rest while you are putting everything else together. 
• All you do is put a little of each item on the plates, slice the chicken, top it off with your crunchies and sauces, and away you go! 

Baked Chicken Parmesan

Earlier this week, I was seriously craving some chicken parmesan!  The dilemma was that I didn't really want the whole fried version.  I was looking for something just as yummy, just... healthier.  I mean let's face it, bathing suit season will be here before we blink, right?  Yikes!  Not only that.  I really want to be the healthiest "me" I can be for my kiddos.  I DO believe in all things moderation, so I'm not about to cut OUT any of the food groups.  But this time, let's see if we can tweak this one to make a baked, not fried, version.  That's all.  Who's in?  :)

My main objective was FLAVOR!  So I made sure to have a super flavorful coating.  And then I wanted them to cook quickly once we had the whole set-up.  The verdict?  SCORE!!!  Flavorful, tender, and they cooked up so quickly!  And yep, I'll try to identify some "make ahead" components so you can get dinner on the table in a flash on a busy weeknight, although this was really nice enough to serve to company! 

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Ingredients: 

• 1.5 pounds thin cut chicken cutlets
• 1/2 c Panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 c seasoned Italian bread crumbs
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 c freshly grated Parmigiano reggiano
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• butter flavored cooking spray
• canned/jarred marinara sauce
• low fat shredded mozzarella cheese
• extra sprinkling of dried basil as garnish 

Step-by-Step:

Go ahead and get the oven preheating to about 400 degrees F.

We are going to start out by making a really flavorful coating.  

*Time saving tip - This coating can be all made up ahead of time and stored in a zip top bag.  

I am mixing regular bread crumbs with Panko bread crumbs to get an extra crunch.  The Panko bread crumbs will give us that extra textural component.

1/2 c Panko bread crumbs + 1/2 c seasoned Italian bread crumbs

Now let's season it up really well!

1 tsp kosher salt + 1/2 tsp coarse black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder + 1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried oregano + 1 tsp dried basil

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano reggiano (This is a KEY component! Please don't use the fake stuff in the green can.  Your recipe is only as good as your ingredients.)

Okay.  Now let's prepare the chicken.
*Time saving tip - The chicken can be trimmed of any fat and pounded thin ahead of time and stored in the fridge between sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper in a gallon sized zip top bag.  When you get home from work, just take them out and you are ready to go!

Here are our thin cut chicken cutlets.  They come like this, as if the grocer has cut them in half.  They are still WAY more than a normal portion, if you ask me. But as you can see, there are still areas that are way thicker or thinner than the rest.  This will lead to uneven cooking.  So we need to even this out.

Take a sheet of plastic wrap and something heavy.  Pound out the chicken to an even thickness.  We want the chicken to cook at the SAME rate without being over- or under- cooked.  This also serves an additional benefit of helping to tenderize the meat.  If you don't have a meat pounder, you can use:  a small skillet, a wine/beer bottle, a rolling pin, the bottom of a heavy glass... you get the idea.

TaDAA... not hard at all.

Okay, we need something for the coating to stick to.  I'm going to make a mixture here.  The butter will help everything brown up and taste great.  The olive oil is heart friendly.  

1 Tbsp melted butter

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Paint the butter/EVOO mixture on to the flattened chicken breasts.

Press the oiled side down into the coating.  Paint the top side once you have it sitting in the coating. Find a cute little sous chef to help you cover, and press - press - PRESS!!!!! You want the coating to really be pressed on to the chicken really well. 

Can you BELIEVE that four of these took up the entire pan?!  How ridiculous is this?!  I set them on parchment paper for super easy cleanup.  That means they 1 - won't stick, and 2 - I won't have to add anything to the pan (like additional oil) to make sure they won't stick, and 3 - I can just throw the paper away and basically have a clean pan.  WooHoo!!!!  

I am going to insert my instant read thermometer into one of these because I want to make sure I don't overcook them.  I can tell they won't take long because we pounded them out and they aren't that thick.  Overcooked = dry and yucky.  We don't want that!

At the last minute, I decided to spray them with a butter flavored cooking spray to help the bread crumbs brown up.

butter flavored cooking spray

I did turn them over about halfway so the bottom would brown up as well.  All in all they only took around 15 minutes.  WOW!  But you need to use a digital thermometer to check your temperature. Chicken needs to be cooked to 165 F, but you can take these out at 160 F because we will put them back in to melt the cheese, and because the residual heat and carry-over cooking will increase them temperature in them.   If you do not have an instant read thermometer, there should be no clear areas in the meat and the juices should run clear.  (But I highly recommend one.  That $20 investment is well worth every penny as you can turn all your attention to other things!)

Now add about 2 Tbsp of marinara to the tops each chicken breast.

2 Tbsp marinara to each

Now add a big pinch (about 1 1/2 Tbsp) of shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the marinara. Then for a bit pizzazz, a sprinkle of dried basil.  

Now these guys are ready to go back into the oven.  They only need to go back in for about 3 or 4 minutes - just long enough for the mozzarella to melt. 

And here it is!  Oh goodness!  It was SO good!!

Now you could totally put this over pasta if you wanted to, with a little extra marinara.  Or you could have it with a beautiful salad for a lower carb option.  It's completely up to you.  That's the beauty of eating at home.  You get to decide... and customize your own plate.  

I hope you enjoyed this fabulous and easy family friendly recipe!

There are hundreds more in my Recipe Index, just waiting to be chosen and cooked!  You can also visit my Film strips for pinning page, to see whole recipes at a glance, and to click-and-go right to the recipe.

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Here are some bonus recipes for you:
Crawfish Fritters with Spicy Remoulade Sauce

Maple Mustard Glazed Chicken

Corn Cakes with Cilantro Lime Cream

Apple and Bacon Stuffed Brussels Sprouts

Ginger Orange Pork Tenderloin

Grilled Chicken Southwestern Chopped Salad with Creamy Cilantro Dressing

Mississippi Mud Puddles

Written Method:

Go ahead and get the oven preheating to about 400 degrees F.

We are going to start out by making a really flavorful coating.  Add together both types of bread crumbs and the next seven types of seasonings. *Time saving tip - This coating can be all made up ahead of time and stored in a zip top bag.  

Okay.  Now let's prepare the chicken.  *Time saving tip - The chicken can be trimmed of any fat and pounded thin ahead of time and stored in the fridge between sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper in a gallon sized zip top bag.  When you get home from work, just take them out and you are ready to go!  I used thin cut chicken cutlets.  They come like this, as if the grocer has cut them in half.  They are still WAY more than a normal portion, if you ask me. But there are still areas that are way thicker or thinner than the rest, which will lead to uneven cooking.  So you will need to even them out.  Take a sheet of plastic wrap and something heavy.  Pound out the chicken to an even thickness.  We want the chicken to cook at the SAME rate without being over- or under- cooked.  This also serves an additional benefit of helping to tenderize the meat.  If you don't have a meat pounder, you can use:  a small skillet, a wine/beer bottle, a rolling pin, the bottom of a heavy glass... you get the idea.  Next, we need something for the coating to stick to.  I'm going to make a mixture here with the butter and olive oil.  The butter will help everything brown up and taste great.  The olive oil is heart friendly.  Paint the butter/EVOO mixture on to the flattened chicken breasts.  Press the oiled side down into the coating.  Paint the top side once you have it sitting in the coating. Find a cute little sous chef to help you cover, and press - press - PRESS!!!!! You want the coating to really be pressed on to the chicken really well.  I set them on parchment paper for super easy cleanup.  That means they 1 - won't stick, and 2 - I won't have to add anything to the pan (like additional oil) to make sure they won't stick, and 3 - I can just throw the paper away and basically have a clean pan.  WooHoo!!!!

I am going to insert my instant read thermometer into one of these because I want to make sure I don't overcook them.  I can tell they won't take long because we pounded them out and they aren't that thick.  Overcooked = dry and yucky.  We don't want that!  At the last minute, I decided to spray them with a butter flavored cooking spray to help the bread crumbs brown up.  

I did turn them over about halfway so the bottom would brown up as well.  All in all they only took around 15 minutes.  WOW!  But you need to use a digital thermometer to check your temperature. Chicken needs to be cooked to 165 F, but you can take these out at 160 F because we will put them back in to melt the cheese, and because the residual heat and carry-over cooking will increase them temperature in them.   If you do not have an instant read thermometer, there should be no clear areas in the meat and the juices should run clear.  (But I highly recommend one.  That $20 investment is well worth every penny as you can turn all your attention to other things!)

Now add about 2 Tbsp of marinara to the tops each chicken breast, followed by a big pinch (about 1 1/2 Tbsp) of shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the marinara. Then for a bit pizzazz, a sprinkle of dried basil.  Now these guys are ready to go back into the oven.  They only need to go back in for about 3 or 4 minutes - just long enough for the mozzarella to melt.