Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Southwestern Chicken Pileups

Tonight I made southwestern chicken pileups from my Biggest Loser Cookbook. Over the past three years or so that I've had this cookbook, I've made quite a few recipes and they've all either been excellent or very good - definitely recommend the cookbook to everyone! Anyway, back to dinner. This was the first time I'd made these. They were basically mexican pizzas. So good! Kevin and I both loved them. Carson ate some plain chicken and other random things - I didn't think this was the greatest meal for him to try to eat. They're messy, but I think its fun to eat messy food every once in a while. These are very filling, too. The recipe says one of these is a serving - well its a big serving! Half of one would have been perfect - I ate 3/4 of it and was absolutely stuffed and couldn't eat the 4th piece. I should have stopped at the half-way point. Next time I'll know. The beans, onions, pita were organic - the rest conventional.

I'll update later on with a picture.

Southwestern Chicken Pileups
Makes 1 serving

1 teaspoon salt-free Mexican or Southwest seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 small boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed of visible fat (I just used some of the grilled tenderloins I prepped ahead on Sunday)
1 whole wheat pita
2 Tablespoons hummus, preferably red-pepper flavor (I just used regular hummus that is made fresh daily from one of my fav. middle eastern restaurants)
2 Tablespoons no salt added canned black beans, drained and rinsed
Several red onion strips (I used yellow onion)
Several red bell pepper strips (I didn't have any)
2 Tablespoons chopped tomato (I just used some salsa)
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (didn't have any)
2 Tablespoons finely shredded Cabot 75% Light Cheddar Cheese (I've looked for this so many times and can never find it - I just used 2% Cheddar Cheese)
4 teaspoons guacamole or fat free sour cream

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Preheat a grill pan to high heat.

Sprinkle the seasoning and garlic powder over the chicken. Place on the grill pan. Reduce the heat to medium. Grill for 3-5 minutes per side, or until no longer pink and the juices run clear. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes. Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place a pita on the grill. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side, or until lightly toasted. (I didn't do this, it crisped up nicely even skipping this.) Place the pita on a nonstick baking sheet. Spread with hummus. Top evenly in layers with the beans, chicken, onion, pepper, tomato, cilantro, and cheese.

Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Let stand for 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate. Slice into 4 wedges. Top each wedge with guacamole or sour cream, if desired.

5 comments:

The Voogts said...

These sound easy and good! I'm anxious to see the picture.

Allie said...

The sound very good and filling with all the toppings. I'll have to check out that cookbook I'm always nervous about diet recipes at are supposed to be filling and you have to eat the whole 4 servings to equal a meal or they taste like nothing.

Sara said...

They are very good and very easy, indeed! I had my chicken prepped in advance so that was a time savings for me - I think it took me about 5 minutes to throw them together before sliding them into the oven. Very fast!

Donna-FFW said...

This sounds like it packs a huge punch of flavor. Very healthy, too!! Thanks for sharing.

Melissa said...

MMM I'm really into Mexican food right now. We've been eating lots of fajitas. I hope to try this one soon!