Category Archives: Mexican

Chicken Taco Salad

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A tasty twist on chicken salad.

Serves 2

2 x 100g chicken breast portions
2 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp Mexican chilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin
A good shake of dried oregano
2 tbs grated reduced-fat cheddar
40g corn chips
2 handfuls of baby spinach
3 large lettuce leaves, torn
About 4 thin slices red onion
1/2 an avocado
10-12 cherry tomatoes
A few slices of red capsicum
Chopped coriander leaves

Combine lime juice, garlic, chilli powder, cumin and oregano in a glass bowl and mix well. Coat the chicken in the mixture and leave to marinate for as long as possible.

Grill the chicken, then slice. Arrange salad veggies on two plates, sprinkle the cheese over, and scatter the corn chips amongst it all. Top with the chicken and add a spoonful of bought salsa. Light sour cream or fat free natural yoghurt adds a nice touch too.

Chicken soft tacos with corn salsa

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Serves 2

400g chicken breast, diced
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1-2 small red chillies, chopped
1/2 a medium onion, finely diced
A good blob of crushed garlic
About 1/2 tsp dried oregano
Wholegrain tortillas
Chunky tomato salsa (hot, medium or however you like it)
Natural yoghurt

Corn salsa:
1 large corn cob, kernels removed
2 spring onions, sliced
1/2 small red capsicum, diced
1/4 cup coriander leaves, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
Mexican-style chilli powder
Lime juice

Using a mortar and pestle, pound coriander seeds with cumin and a little salt until crushed. Heat 2 tsp oil in a non-stick pan and add the spice mix, onion and garlic. Stir for a minute or two, then add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides and cooked through.

Warm tortillas for a few seconds in the microwave and place on plates. Top with cooked chicken mixture, add some tomato salsa, a little corn salsa and a dollop of yoghurt. Roll up and serve with the remaining corn salsa.

To make the corn salsa:

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, add spring onions and corn kernels. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until heated through. Place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients, add lime juice and salt to taste.

Just for Raechelle:

With one wholegrain tortilla, half each of the chicken and the corn salsa, a tablespoon of tomato salsa and about 25g of yoghurt, it comes to approx:

Calories: 523
Protein: 53.5g
Carbs: 38.7g
Fat: 18g

You could easily modify it with less chicken and no oil, and just cut down the quantity of corn salsa. Lucky for me, I was planning on extra calories today. :p

Quick(ish) chicken enchiladas

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Sorry – no picture today. I was FAR too hungry to stop and take one.

Edit note: Apparently I did take a photo….my extreme hunger must have given me amnesia.

2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 small red chilli finely chopped
400g chicken breast, diced
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ cup chopped coriander leaves
Mexican style chilli powder and salt, to taste
4 wholemeal tortillas
½ cup grated reduced fat tasty cheese.

Preheat oven to 170C. Heat oil in a non-stick pan, add onion, garlic and chilli and stir over medium heat until onion is tender. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally until browned and almost cooked through. Add tomatoes, cumin and coriander leaves, mix well. Add the salt and chilli powder, stir well, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and divide chicken evenly between tortillas, reserving most of the tomato sauce. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down in an ovenproof dish. Spoon the sauce over, sprinkle with the cheese.

Bake for about 25 minutes. Serve on a bed of shredded lettuce, diced tomato, finely sliced red onion and chopped coriander leaves.

Chilli con carne

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And the secret ingredient is…….chocolate! A colleague at the office who knows I love tasty food brought me this recipe – it was from an issue of Gourmet Traveller.


Serves 6

180g dried kidney beans, soaked overnight
¼ cup olive oil
1kg minced beef
2 chorizo, cut into 1cm pieces
500g pork shoulder, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-2 fresh green jalapenos, thinly sliced
500ml beef stock
400g canned tomatoes
50g dark chocolate (70% cocoa) coarsely chopped
60ml malt vinegar
2 tbs dried oregano
1 cinnamon quill
1 tbs coriander seeds, toasted and finely ground
3 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and finely ground
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Ground chilli powder, to taste
½ cup coriander leaves
Soft tortillas, warmed, to serve
Sour cream, guacamole and lime wedges, to serve

Place kidney beans in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and cook mince, breaking up with the back of a spoon, for 5 mins or until brown, transfer to a plate. Add 1 tbs oil to saucepan, add chorizo and cook for 2 minutes or until starting to brown, add pork shoulder and cook for a further 5 minutes or until brown, then add to mince. Add remaining oil to pan, add onions, garlic and jalapenos and cook for 5 mins or until soft. Return meat to pan with stock, tomatoes, chocolate, vinegar, oregano and spices, season to taste with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and ground chilli. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally until pork is tender. Add beans and cook for another 20 minutes or until sauce is thick. Adjust seasoning and chilli to taste.

Serve scattered with coriander leaves, accompanied by guacamole, tortillas, sour cream and lime wedges.

Apologies for the crappy photo, which doesn’t actually look all that appetising…..forgot to take a pic before we ate it, so all I had was the leftovers in the pot. Trust me, this is a Memorable Meal.