Cinco de Mayo is coming up this week and what better way to celebrate than by eating delicious food? I wanted to share a few recipes of easy and healthy meals that have Mexican-inspired flavors. Two of them have been featured on the blog before but I thought it would be a good idea to put them all together here and make them easy to find.
I am not Mexican but love Mexican food, so I often cook with the flavors, even if the meal is not absolutely authentic. I also try to make things a bit healthier when I am cooking at home and avoid deep frying, using too much cheese or butter, and cutting back on the less healthy ingredients. If I have any Mexican friends reading this who want to teach me, please reach out!
- Crockpot chicken tacos – super easy recipe! All you need is 3 chicken breasts, 1 cup of chicken broth, and 1 packet of taco seasoning. Make it healthier by using the less salty packet or making your own taco seasoning (I have not done the latter but there are lots of recipes floating around). Cook for 4-5 hours on slow in the Crockpot and shred at the end. This is one of my frozen meals, so I usually have it in my freezer and take it out the night before I want to make it. You can pick soft versus hard shells and whatever other ingredients you want for the tacos: tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, avocado, onions, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, peppers…the best part is that it feeds lots of people or you can use the left overs for recipe number 3!
- Crockpot chicken fajitas – another one of my frozen Crockpot meals. You can also use this one for recipe number 3 and I prefer it because it has more veggies. The ingredients include 2 red peppers, sliced in thin strips, 1 yellow onion, sliced, 3 chicken breasts, 1/2 cup chicken broth, 1 taco seasoning packet, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp salt. Mix all ingredients together and cook on low for 5-6 hours. I don’t shred this one as much because I like to keep some bigger chunks of chicken. You should also defrost the night prior to making it if you have it made as a frozen meal. I use whole wheat soft tortillas for this one and add some light sour cream and shredded mozzarella cheese (part skim) but you can use any cheese you want or none!
- Chicken enchiladas – whenever I make either recipe 1 or 2, I use the left overs to make these enchiladas. So easy and delicious. I start with a 9 x 9 inch non-stick pan and spray it with Pam spray. Set the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit while you prep the enchiladas. You can use any size container and it can be Pyrex/glass if you prefer depending on how much food you have left over. I use whole wheat tortillas and put some shredded mozzarella (about a tablespoon) on the tortilla before spooning shredded chicken on top). I roll up the tortilla and repeat. I fold them and place them in the pan seam down but you can also use toothpicks to close them. Once I have used up all the left over chicken, I cover them with mild enchilada sauce and about 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese because it is lower fat than other cheeses but you can use any shredded cheese you like. I use Frontera brand if I can find it or my local supermarket has a good one as well (Giant). There may be more spicy sauces as well, so choose one that you love. The ones I use are not high in calories and are delicious. Bake for 20-25 minutes and then serve! I like to eat them with a little light sour cream as well.
Bonus: My children still won’t eat the above but love cheese quesadillas. I take a whole wheat tortilla and fold it in half. I stuff with shredded mozzarella and cook it on a 10 inch pan after heating a small amount of butter. Cook it for 3-4 minutes on one side, flip, and do the other one (add more butter if needed). Kids love it!
Let me know if you have any healthy and delicious Mexican recipes or if you would like to teach me how to cook authentic Mexican food! Happy 5 de Mayo!