Spicy Mexican Pulled Chicken and Vegetables

I love this chicken so much I made myself sick eating too much of it. Since my stomach has trouble emptying I have to eat my meals spaced out. Because a few bites of anything causes my stomach to blow up like a balloon, my nutritionist suggested spacing out each part of my meals. I eat the vegetable, wait an hour or so, then eat the meat/protein, wait an hour or so and eat the potato/grain, etc. It’s frustrating, but I’m getting used to it. However, when it came to taco night I couldn’t help myself, I ate 3 tacos, knowing I should only have had two. I should have waited an hour before eating that third one, but it was so tasty I couldn’t wait. My stomach was painfully distended, but it was so worth it.

For lunch the next day I made nachos covered in the chicken and topped with homemade salsa. You can use this chicken as a topping for nachos, a filling for burritos, tacos, or just eat it as is. Less chipotle chiles can be used if you don’t want too much spice. It also freezes well. I usually just freeze it as is, but you could add the filling to some burritos and make frozen burritos. Unfortunately, this was gone in 2 days, with no leftovers to for me to freeze. Speaking of tacos, have you ever tried the Trader Joe’s organic hard taco shells? They are to-die-for. I will never buy the supermarket ones again. The flavor is unbelievable. If you find yourself at TJ’s, do yourself a favor and get a box.





Spicy Mexican Pulled Chicken and Vegetables
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Serves 4-6

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp ancho chile powder
1 tsp chile powder
½-1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn (or 1 c frozen corn, thawed)
1 can diced tomatoes with jalepenos (or green chiles), undrained
3-4 chipotle chiles in adobo, pureed or finely chopped, plus 2 tsp adobo sauce
1 (10 oz) bag fresh spinach
1 lime

Combine both chili powders, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste, in a small prep bowl. Mix with a fork.

Add a Tbl or so of grapeseed oil (or EVOO) to a skillet over medium heat. Add chicken breast, sprinkle with spice mixture. Cook 7-8 minutes, then flip, season other side of each breast with the spices, and continue cooking til chicken is cooked through. Remove to cutting board, allow to rest. Once chicken has rested a few minutes, shred with two forks.

Place the diced sweet potatoes into a microwave safe bowl, add a couple Tbl water, cover with plastic wrap. Poke a few holes in the plastic wrap and microwave 3 minutes. Remove and let stand.

Add a Tbl or two of oil to the skillet and sauté the onion a few minutes in the chicken drippings. Add garlic, corn, black beans, diced sweet potato, and any remaining spice mixture. Cook a few minutes, then stir in tomatoes, chicken, chipotle chiles and adobo sauce. Cover and simmer 15-20 min. Stir in spinach til wilted. Squeeze in lime juice and stir. Serve in tacos/burritos, over nachos, or in a bowl. Garnish as desired with cilantro, cheese, salsa, etc.



Source: inspired by/heavily adapted from Tyler Florence