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Meal Prep Chicken Fajitas

March 6, 2018 by Nicole Collins

Today, we’re having one of those recipes that was inspired by necessity.

But, probably not in the way you think.

You see, meal prepping is taking the internet by storm right now. But, I’d just like to note that I’ve been meal prepping and making make ahead meals for years. For once, I’m not on the tail end of a trend! Maybe, I was even the innovator…

Who knows!

I’m sure I’ve told you this before but I have a SMALL kitchenware shopping problem. I have kitchen items (plates, small appliances, table décor, serving ware, etc) in literally every room of my house. And, I’m not misusing the word literally.

So naturally, these adorable meal prep glass containers are in all of the meal prep pics I’ve seen, and I just had to have them. But, the weirdest part is that they only came (for a reasonable price) in a set of 3. How weird is that?

Thankfully, I’ve got wayyyyy too many other bento box type containers to use as a substitute for my fourth meal. And, since I didn’t want my pretty new containers (or my pretty old containers) just sitting in a cabinet collecting dust, I had to figure out what my first official, intentional meal prep meal would be.

I settled on Meal Prep Chicken Fajitas!

But, we’re not just prepping Chicken Fajitas, folks! We’re also having Sweet and Spicy Roasted Pineapple and Homemade Tortilla Chips. Can I get a woot woot?!?!

Let’s break this down piece by piece.

First, the homemade tortilla chips. These couldn’t be easier to make. Cut corn tortillas in to wedges, spray them with olive oil cooking spray, sprinkle some kosher salt on top, and bake. Done. I had some extra corn tortillas leftover from when I made these taquitos that I kept in my freezer, so these were at no extra cost to me. However, you could certainly use your favorite brand of store bought tortillas if you feel like cheating today. I’m not judging. Or, you could skip the chips all together and pack a flour tortilla to eat the fajita meat…well, like a fajita. Don’t you love it when I give you options?

Next up, the Sweet and Spicy Roasted Pineapple. Can we just take a second to sit on that thought? Cause, this roasted pineapple is possibly my new favorite thing.

We take a fresh pineapple (none of the canned stuff for this one, sorry!), we core it, and we cut it in to ½ inch thick rings. Then, we rub a mix of brown sugar, chipotle chili powder, and a pinch of salt in to both sides of the flesh. Pop it in the oven to soften up, get a little golden, and get just a little gooey. Yum! This pineapple is the best of the 3 S’s: a little smoky, a little spicy, and a lot sweet. It tastes AMAZING, and it makes the perfect side dish for our fajita meat.

Last up, is our chicken fajita meat mix. We start with a homemade fajita seasoning. It’s got a tiny kick to it, but you can control that by using less cayenne pepper. The ingredient list might look really long, but I guarantee you already have all (or most) of these spices sitting in your spice cabinet. So, why not make our own fajita seasoning? But, you can certainly substitute a store bought seasoning if you really want to.

We toss our fajita seasoning with our chopped chicken breast and our rainbow medley of veggies. I chose to use chicken breast tenderloins for this (because honestly, they’re easier to cut to 1 inch pieces), but you could definitely cut up boneless, skinless chicken breasts too if that’s what you have. Our veggies are just a simple mix of 3 different colored peppers and a red onion. How pretty!

The chicken, veg, and fajita seasoning get roasted together for about 40 minutes, finish them with a squeeze of lime juice, and they’re done! But, don’t forget the sprinkle of cheese on top before you pack them away!

Everything can get separated in to your meal prep containers, but I would recommend storing the tortilla chips separately. You don’t want them to get soggy!

And obviously, you don’t have to have this as a meal prep meal. You can absolutely serve this as tonight’s dinner. In fact, I certainly recommend that!

If you want some pretty glass meal prep containers too (because, why not?), these are the ones I got from Amazon. With or without, please just make sure you make all of this amazing stuff asap!

Enjoy, and let’s eat!

 

Meal Prep Chicken Fajitas

Serves: 4 Print

Ingredients:

For the Chicken Fajitas:

  • 1 tsp chili powder

  • 1 tsp cumin

  • 1 tsp paprika

  • 1 tsp brown sugar

  • 1 tsp salt

  • ½ tsp garlic powder

  • ½ tsp onion powder

  • ¼ tsp pepper

  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

  • 1 ½ lbs chicken tenderloins, cut in to 1 inch pieces

  • 3 bell peppers, multicolored (I used red, yellow, and green), sliced

  • 1 red onion, sliced

  • 2 tbsp olive oil

  • juice of 1 lime

  • ¼ cup mexican blend shredded cheese

For the Roasted Pineapple:

  • 1 pineapple, cored and sliced to ½ inch thick rings

  • 3 tbsp brown sugar

  • ½ tsp chipotle chili powder

  • 1/8 tsp salt

For the Tortilla Chips:

  • 8 corn tortillas, cut in to 1/8 wedges

  • olive oil cooking spray

  • kosher or sea salt (< 1 tsp)

Directions:

  1. Make the Tortilla Chips: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large sheet tray with aluminum foil, and spray with olive oil cooking spray. Arrange tortilla wedges on the tray. Spray with olive oil cooking spray, to coat. Top with salt, to taste. Bake for 8-10 mins, rotating the pan half way. Set aside. Keep the oven set at 400 degrees.

  2. Make the Roasted Pineapple: Line a sheet tray with parchment paper. In a small bowl or ramekin, combine brown sugar, chipotle powder, and salt. Sprinkle brown sugar mix on both sides of each pineapple slice, rubbing it in gently with your fingers. Place pineapple slices on prepared baking sheet. Roast for 15 mins, flip the pineapple slices, and roast for another 15 mins until the pineapple is fork tender. Set aside, and cut each ring in to quarters. Keep the oven set at 400 degrees.

  3. Make the Chicken Fajitas: In a small bowl or ramekin, combine all spices (the first 9 ingredients). In a 13x9 casserole dish, add peppers, onions, and chicken. Top with olive oil and spice mix. Using your hands, mix everything together in the dish until all of the chicken and veggies are coated in the spice mix. Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, and stir the contents of the dish. Place back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with the juice of 1 lime. Stir around to combine.

  4. Assemble your meal prep dishes: Divide chicken fajita mix evenly between 4 meal prep bowls. Top with cheese. Divide roasted pineapple evenly between 4 bowls. Divide chips evenly, but store separately until ready to serve.

Recipe notes:

*These are the meal prep containers I have if you're looking for a set.

*You don't have to serve these as make ahead meal prep bowls. You can certainly serve this as a fresh meal!

*You don't have to make your own tortilla chips. You could cheat and use store bought. Or, you could serve the fajita mix on a flour tortilla and actually have fajitas!

*You want to use fresh pineapple for the roasted pineapples. Canned pineapple is cut too thin.

*You could use store bought fajita seasoning if you wanted to. The equivalent would be 2 tbsp. But, I bet you already have all of these spices in your pantry, so why not make it!

The Yummy Muffin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. I provide links to products that I use by my own choice, and all opinions are my own. Thank you for your support!

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