Chicken Enchilada Chopped Salad

Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) and Zola To Go! recipe.

Mexican food is usually chock-full of carbs. Everything is wrapped in a tortilla or paired with a pile of taco chips. And of course they then serve the dishes with a side of rice and another side of beans. It’s crazy. This dish will give you all the satisfaction of a Mexican enchilada without the carbs.

The concept of a “chopped salad” is just that. Chopped. Everything chopped, and chopped small enough so you don’t have to cut anything to eat it.  This salad follows that concept and offers up a tasty meal.

Servings: Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

For the enchilada chicken:

• 4 chicken breasts poached and shredded*
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced (jar garlic will work)
• 4 ounce can of chopped green chilies (these are mild)
• 10 oz can of enchilada sauce (The trick here is to find a brand that has no sugar in it. If your grocery store doesn’t have one with NO sugar at least get one that has sugar at the END of the ingredient list. That way there will only be a trace of it in the chicken. Then ask your grocer to stock one with no sugar. Most of the Mexican brands that are authentic have no sugar. You decide if you want mild, medium or hot sauce. The medium makes a plenty zippy meal for me.
• jalapeno pepper slices (optional)

*To poach chicken just put the skinless breasts in a sauté pan and cover with water. Bring water to a low boil and cook for 15 minutes or until there is no pink left in the middle of the breast. When they are cooked you can then take two forks and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces.

For the salad:

• 2 heads of romaine lettuce
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 2 stalks of celery chopped

Instructions:

To make the enchilada chicken:

In a  large sauté pan spray lightly with olive oil spray and then add the onion. Cook until the onion wilts and begins to soften. Add the garlic, the chicken, chilies and enchilada sauce. Stir. Cook on medium heat until the flavors are blended and the chicken is hot.

For the salad:

Chop the romaine into bite-sized pieces. I do this with a knife. Add the chopped tomato and chopped celery. Mix in a large bowl.

Place the amount of salad you’d like to eat on a plate. Top it with your portion of chicken enchilada. Garnish with slices of jalapeno if you want the extra zip. One cup will make a nice-sized meal. Depending on how large your chicken breasts are the whole amount may feed as many as six.

To make it a true chopped salad you’ll mix the chicken around with the salad before you eat it. I took the picture of this before I stirred it in so you could see how the chicken looks when it’s completed.

Enjoy!

Cheers,