Easy Mexican Chicken

Personally -- I am a HUGE fan of Mexican cuisine. In fact, some of the proudest cooking moments I have include figuring out how to skinny up Mexican dishes without sacrificing flavors and still keeping the essential nutrients our bodies need -- as some "diet" foods seem to forget.

What many people don't know when they are trying to get healthy is that Mexican food is actually quite flavorful naturally. When you think of ingredients like tomato salsa, fresh cilantro, and avocadoes -- these are all things that are of the EARTH (meaning your body will thank you for them.) With that being put out there, look at this amazing way to cook some Mexican chicken that's friendly to your body -- and have your cheese and eat it too. Seriously, it was so easy to make, Austin & I went ice skating in Silver Spring afterwards.

Servings: 6

What You'll Need:

Austin's first time skating! Such a sweet idea!

• 3 large raw chicken breasts (get a 3-pack in the grocery store)
• 1 jar salsa (Some like Medium, but I get Hot for that spicy kick!)
• Tip: You may think all salsas are the same, but look at the ingredients list of the brands you're considering. I liked Newman's Own because I could understand what goes into it! Nothing sketchy about things like "tomatoes" and "onions."
• 1 cup reduced-fat shredded Cheddar Jack cheese (Sargento makes this)
• 1 avocado
• A Slow Cooker (Don't think they're expensive like I thought for so long..... I got mine for $15)
• A SLOW COOKER IS THE BEST THING YOU'LL EVER BUY (more on this in a later post)
• Here's one for $16: Click here
• Oven + 13x9 Pan (a brownie pan)
• Optional: Fresh Cilantro

The Step-by-Step:

(inspired by a Pinterest post)

1. Rinse the chicken breasts gently with some cold water. Pat dry with some paper towels.
2. Pour 1/3 of the salsa into the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Take each chicken breast, and slice it in half horizontally (so one long cut from left to right.) You should now have six pieces of chicken.
4. Place two pieces of chicken in the slow cooker, then top with more salsa. Repeat until you place all chicken in the cooker and top it with salsa. If you want some extra spice, feel free to add a little bit of cayenne pepper.
5. Put the lid on the slow cooker, and let it cook on "Low" for 3 hours.
6. Transfer the chicken to the pan, and top it with the remaining salsa mixture from the slow cooker.
7. Let bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes until cooked through.
8. Slice the avocado. Get the cheese measured and ready.
9. Remove the pan from the oven and top each chicken piece with avocado slices. Sprinkle the whole pan with the cheese. If you have cilantro, rip the leaves and sprinkle over.
10. Let bake for 5 more minutes so the cheese can melt into stringy goodness.

See, I told you -- super easy.
Not to mention -- it makes for EXCELLENT left-overs that you can easily freeze and reheat. Check my Instagram (@natalieneilson) for the mexican chicken salad I made the day after!

Happy eating!
xoxo n