Mexican Chicken in Tortilla Baskets

I am actually embarrassed by how busy I have been of late and how long it's been since I posted any our meals.. trust me we have been cooking but admittedly our meals have been recipes that have either been posted before or frozen meals (normally left overs). Also I have been really busy with work and have been travelling quite a bit... crossing fingers I can get the balance right between work and blogging so I can keep sharing with you all.

Saying this, tonight I have a committee meeting with the Junior Football Club (so yes I am still a little busy) and needed to cook something no only tasty but quick and easy as I wanted to eat dinner sitting down as a family before attending the meeting. This recipe certainly met all that criteria - tasty, quick and easy.

With the family having a soft spot for Mexican dishes I knew we would all enjoy this meal and serving it in a tortilla basket made it seem more authentic and was definitely different. It wasn't overly spicy and more chilli can be used for the chilli lovers.

Making the tortilla basket was very easy. Choose an ovenproof bowl dependent on how you want your baskets to look - there is no real rule here. I used Mission reduced fat tortillas but I know there are several on the market.

Mexican Chicken in Tortilla Baskets

(recipe adapted from Symply To Good To Be True # 3)

Serves: 4

Points per serve: 6

4 reduced fat tortillas

cooking spray

500 grams chicken breast, all visible fat removed

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1 brown onion, diced

1 red capsicum, largely diced

1 green capsicum, largely diced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons oregano

1/4 teaspoon chilli powder

2 teaspoons chicken stock powder

1 x 410 gram can diced tomatoes

1 x 450 gram can refried beans

fresh coriander leaves or finely sliced spring onion, for garnish

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Coat a ovenproof bowl with cooking spray and press the tortilla into the bowl. Coat the tortilla basket with cooking spray and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and leave in bowl to cool.

Dice the chicken.

Coat a large frying pan with cooking spray and cook the chicken and garlic for 4 minutes, add onion and capsicum and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cumin, paprika, oregano, chilli powder and stock powder. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and refried beans and mix well. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 3 - 5 minutes ensuring that the chicken is cooked through. If mixture starts to thicken add a little water to thin, if desired.

Serve in the tortilla baskets and garnish with coriander or spring onions.

Note: If you do not wish to serve with the tortilla basket the points for the chicken dish would be 4 points per serve.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)