Fast & Fab Chicken Bowl

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It should be no surprise that I enjoy cooking fast and fabulous meals. I wrote a book about it, for goodness sake! I figure the quicker I can create a meal, the better. This meal is certainly no exception. My family loved this meal, so I am sharing it in hopes that your family will love it as well. As always, I want to inspire you to get out of the drive-thru and into the kitchen. This one should do it!

All you will need is boneless skinless chicken breasts, taco seasoning, lime juice, cilantro, onion, avocado, jalapeños (fresh or from the jar like I used), cilantro, tomatoes, black beans (canned or cook your own), and cooked rice (brown or white). Now that may sound like a lot of ingredients, but keep in mind you will only be cooking the rice and chicken unless you opt to cook your black beans instead of using canned ones.

 

While your rice is cooking according to the package directions, get started chopping your fixings and heating up your black beans. Then, move Cut away any fat from your chicken breasts, and then cut the breasts into cubes, about 1/2″ in size. I use four chicken breasts for my family of five. Chicken tenders would work fine as well.

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Now that they are all cut up, we are ready to season them.

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Sprinkle taco seasoning onto the breasts. I use a generous amount. By the way, I use regular taco seasoning, not the chicken taco seasoning. I have yet to find a good reason to use chicken taco seasoning specifically when the regular one works just fine.

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Grab a fork and gently stir the chicken around so that the seasoning is distributed evenly. Next is our final ingredient. I told you this would be fast and fabulous. No worries, it will not lack flavor at all. All you need is the juice of one lime. So, get out your citrus press and goooooo. (If you want a citrus press, or any kitchen tools I use, visit the store section of my blog to order your own).

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Now that our chicken cubes are seasoned with the lime juice as well, let’s get ready to make the magic happen. Heat a skillet with the oil of your choice (vegetable, canola, extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil). Once it’s hot, add the chicken to the skillet.

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I threw some sliced red onions in the skillet. I was not careful about how I cut them at all (as you can tell).

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Continue to cook the chicken and onions until they start to brown like this.

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Once the chicken is finished, assemble your plate of fixings. I used jalapenos from the jar, grape tomatoes, chopped cilantro, sour cream, and black beans (when I use canned beans, I prefer Bush’s Seasoned Black Beans) . Don’t forget your bowl of rice or quinoa on the side. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Each person can create their own individual bowl with this family style layout. Enjoy this fast and fabulous meal. Let me know if you plan to try it and definitely let me know if you make it!

 

Fast & Fab Chicken Bowl
Serves 6
My spin on the chicken burrito bowls from Chipotle.
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
15 min
Total Time
30 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
15 min
Total Time
30 min
Ingredients
  1. 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  2. 4 tablespoons of taco seasoning
  3. 1 lime, juiced
  4. 1 table spoon of vegetable oil
  5. 1/2 red onion, sliced
Fixings
  1. Rice
  2. Black Beans
  3. Avocado
  4. Jalapeños
  5. Grape Tomatoes, Halved
  6. Cilantro
  7. Sour Cream
Instructions
  1. Prepare rice according to package directions
  2. Chop fixings and set aside
  3. Dice chicken breasts into 1/2" chunks
  4. Sprinkle taco seasoning over the chicken. Use a spoon or fork to stir the chicken so seasoning is evenly distributed
  5. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime over the chicken
  6. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat
  7. Add chicken and cook for 3 minutes
  8. Add onions to skillet and flip chicken with a spatula
  9. Continue to cook chicken and onions for 5 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center and outside is slightly browned
  10. Remove from skillet and serve over rice. Top with fixings.
Notes
  1. This dish also makes a great meatless meal by replacing the chicken with quinoa and omitting the rice.
  2. Greek yogurt is a great fat-free substitute for sour cream.
SuperMom Decoded https://supermomdecoded.com/

Easy Panko Crusted Swai

Panko Breaded Swai

I love fish, so I am always in search of a new fish to try out in my kitchen. Recently, I noticed a fish called SWAI being offered in my local grocery store. I finally bought some to try out. It is a mild, white fish originating from Southeast Asia.  I researched a couple of ways to prepare it, and made it for done one day. I really liked the fish. My kids, ehhh not so much. I kept buying it and trying it out anyway. (I live by the rule of trying something seven times before deciding if you like it or not). I decided to try swai breaded with panko bread crumbs. It was a winner! My oldest child tried it and loved it. On another note, I put some pan seared pieces of swai in my middle child’s pasta dish and she thought it was tilapia and loved it. Shhh…I still haven’t confessed about that one. I don’t think she reads my blog, so no biggie. 🙂 This recipe is easy. I rarely make things with tons of ingredients. I also like to use ingredients that are commonly found in any grocery store.

Ingredients

 No worries if you are not into swai, this recipe works will with tilapia. 

Swai Fillets

I only used two swai fillets, but you can use up to five or six fillets with the amount of ingredients we will use.

Swai Fillets

I don’t like large fillets, so I cut mine in half. These fillets are pretty long anyway, so cutting them in half helps them fit into my pan. 

Lemon Pepper Seasoning

Place the panko bread crumbs (which happen to resemble Rice Crispy Cereal), Trader Joe’s 21 Season Salute, black pepper, and lemon pepper into a shallow dish, large enough to coat the fillets without bending them.

Panko Seasoning Blend

Stir the mixture until all the seasonings are distributed evenly throughout.

Panko Bread Crumb Seasoning

In another shallow dish, crack an egg and add 2 tablespoons of water to it. (My oldest daughter is my hand model today. She was the perfect choice since she has long slender fingers, and she always keeps her nails done.)

Egg

Water

Whisk away….(This mini whisk has to be one of my fav kitchen toys. Don’t have one? Grab one here.)

Egg Wash

Egg Wash

Dip both sides of the fillets in the egg wash.

Swai Dipped Egg WashThen coat them in the panko bread crumb mixture….

Panko Breaded Swai

Panko Breaded Swai

Panko Breaded Swai

Now they are ready to go into the pan. You can use a skillet, it’s all good.

Panko Breaded Swai

Just coat the bottom of the skillet with vegetable oil. Olive oil works as well. In a perfect world, my pan would be totally flat and my oil would evenly cover the bottom of the skillet.

Hot oil

Once the oil is  hot, add you fillets

Panko Breaded Swai

Panko Breaded Swai

Once they are nice and brown, flip ’em over to brown the other side.

Panko Breaded Swai

Panko Breaded Swai

So now, they are done. Remove them from the pan to feed the starving family that patiently waited for the food to have a photo shoot before they could eat. (Maybe that’s just at my house).

Panko Breaded Swai

Pretty, huh?

Panko Breaded Swai

I served mine with my crazy corn cakes and sautéed kale from my cookbook Fast & Fabulous Family Meals. Every southern girl loves greens and cornbread, right?

Panko Breaded Swai

So what do you think??? Let me know in the comments. If you post this on social media, be sure to use the hashtag #fastandfabmeals and you become an official #rocqstar!

 

Panko Crusted Swai
Serves 6
Easy way to cook Swai or almost any white fish of your choice. Panko bread crumbs, a few seasonings, and egg wash are all the ingredients needed for this quick and easy meal.
Write a review
Print
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
25 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
25 min
Ingredients
  1. 5 swai fillets
  2. 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs, plain
  3. 2 teaspoons Trader Joe's 21 Season Salute
  4. 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
  5. 1 teaspoon black pepper
  6. 1 egg
  7. 2 tablespoons water
  8. 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil
  9. Kitchen equipment: skillet, spatula, tongs, 2 shallow pans for coating fish, tablespoon, mini whisk or fork.
Instructions
  1. Kitchen equipment: skillet, spatula, tongs, 2 shallow pans for coating fish, mini whisk or fork.
  2. Cut fillet in half horizontally.
  3. In a shallow dish, combine panko bread crumbs and dry seasonings. Stir until seasonings are evenly distributed throughout bread crumbs.
  4. In a different shallow dish, whisk together egg and water.
  5. Dip both sides of fillets in egg wash, then dip both sids into bread crumb mixture.
  6. Heat oil in skillet over high heat.
  7. When oil is hot, place fillets in skillet and allow them to cook for about 3 minutes, or until desired brown color is reached.
  8. Flip over fillets and cook on the other side for an additional 3 minutes or until desired brown color is reached. Be sure fish is cooked throughout as well.
  9. Remove from skillet onto a paper towel covered plate, to absorb excess oil.
SuperMom Decoded https://supermomdecoded.com/

Grilled Chicken Taco Recipe

I was in search of some quick dinner options that would use up the lifetime supply of boneless skinless chicken breasts I have stored in my freezer. Ok, it’s not really a lifetime supply, but it is a pretty big bag. Since we were snowed in yet again, going to the grocery store for ingredients wasn’t an option. I had to use some things I already had (which I like doing anyway). Chicken breasts, avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream, tortillas were ingredients I already had in my stock, so chicken tacos is what I came up with. PERFECT since our family loves tacos.
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I thawed about 5 chicken breasts, and then pounded them flat. I despise large chicken breasts since they are difficult to cook evenly without them drying out. Thin breasts cook quicker and stay moist easily. Who likes dry chicken??? NOBODY. I put my chicken breasts in  a freezer size Ziploc bag prior to pounding flat with the smooth side of my meat tenderizer to avoid splatter. The flatter, the better.

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I cut away any excess fatty parts, and then season them up with taco seasoning. Don’t bother buying “chicken taco seasoning” because I don’t think there is a difference besides the name. (If you know of a difference, let me know in the comments).

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Be generous with your seasoning. It makes a difference in the taste.

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I seasoned both sides well before they headed into the heated grill pan. Now, you can drizzle some vegetable or canola oil over your breasts or make sure your grill pan is oiled before putting the chicken in there. Also, make sure the grill pan is hot, or your chicken will stick, and that’s not cute at all! A little oil will help you get those pretty grill marks as well, so oil away!

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You want the breasts to cook about 3 -5 minutes on one side before flipping them over. Grill marks should be evident as well.

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And now let them cook on the other side. Simple, huh? Your main ingredient done in less than ten minutes. That’s fast and fabulous my friends. Let them rest for about 5 minutes before slicing them up.

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And then slice away. We like slices over chunks, but hey, do what your family likes.

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Slice, slice, slice….(my hubby is doing the slicing for me).IMG_0849

Yum! Looks good, doesn’t it? Speaking of looking good, I like to grill my tortillas so they look good as well. Clean that grill pan now, or simply grill your tortillas before you grill the chicken (hmmmm…maybe I should have told you that up front). I like to do it afterwards though so my tortillas are warm when I get ready to eat them. Heat up your lightly oiled grill pan, and place your first tortilla in there for a minute.  Do it any longer, and your tortilla will turn into a big cracker. (Lol).

IMG_0832Flip it over and let it grill for another minute or just until you get the grill marks. Don’t worry if it starts to puff up. It will go down immediately after it’s removed from the grill pan.

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Nice, huh?

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Now we are ready to assemble the tacos. You can use store bought tomato salsa, or make your own like I usually do. My recipe is my cookbook. I also sliced up some avocado to go along with my other fixings of sour cream and  shredded cheese. Black beans served as our side dish. Rice wouldn’t hurt either, but I didn’t have any so we did without.

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I like to assemble them in this order: chicken, salsa, avocado, cheese, sour cream. I add a few sprigs of cilantro on top.

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Dinner is done. So easy, or shall I say FAST AND FABULOUS! Let me hear from you in the comment section.

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Here’s a look at the tools I used. All items are available here in my cooking store.

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Grilled Chicken Taco Recipe

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

5 tablespoons taco seasoning

1 tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil

10 flour tortillas, taco size

1 cup shredded mexican cheese

1 cup of salsa (homemade or store bought)

sour cream

fresh cilantro and lime for garnish

Kitchen Equipment

cutting board

knife

grill pan

meat tenderizer

tongs

citrus squeezer (used in homemade salsa)

 

Directions

Place chicken breasts in freezer size ziploc bag and flatten with smooth side of meat tenderizer.

Cut away any fatty pieces from breasts.

Season breasts with taco seasoning and drizzle with oil.

Heat grill pan over high heat. Grill breasts for 3-5 minutes per side.

Remove from grill pan and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Slice breasts into 1/2 inch slices or thinner.

Clean grill pan and oil lightly.

Heat grill pan to high, and grill tortillas for about one minute on each side.

Assemble tacos with chicken slices and 2 teaspoons of salsa (or more if you like). Garnish with fresh avocado slices, shredded cheese, and fresh cilantro. Serve with black beans.

Serves 5