Mexican Chicken Bake

Serves 6.

This is one of those throw-it-all-in-the-dish dinners that tastes so good for very little effort. Think spicy tomato rice, tender shredded chicken, black beans, lots of veggies and bubbling golden cheese on top. A total crowd pleaser.

Farrah’s spice mixes are really doing all the heavy lifting too, packed with the perfect blend of spices and flavour to transform the whole dish… plus they’ve got no nasties so it’s a double win for me!

Ingredients
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 packet Farrah’s Taco Seasoning
1 cup rice
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 heaped tbsp tomato paste
1 onion, finely diced
1 red capsicum, diced
1 eggplant, diced
1 cup frozen corn
1 red chilli, finely diced
20g coriander, stalks finely chopped and leaves reserved
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
Generous grinding of black pepper
1 cup grated Colby cheese

To Serve
1 avocado, sliced

Dressing
Juice of 1 lime
1 red chilli, finely sliced
Reserved coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of salt

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan bake.

Add the chicken thighs to a large baking dish and coat well with the Farrah’s Taco Seasoning. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Using two forks, shred the chicken directly in the baking dish. Add the rice, black beans, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, capsicum, eggplant, corn, chilli, chopped coriander stalks, chicken stock, salt and black pepper. Mix everything together really well, then scatter the cheese evenly over the top.

Cover tightly with baking paper and foil or a lid and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for a further 15–20 minutes until the rice is tender and the cheese is golden and bubbling.

Meanwhile, mix together the lime juice, chilli, chopped coriander leaves, olive oil and a pinch of salt to make the dressing.

Let the bake sit for 10 minutes before serving, then top with sliced avocado and spoon over the fresh dressing.