Easy Fajita Spice Mix (Gluten Free) and Chicken / Beef Fajitas Recipe

Delicious with Chicken or Beef and Peppers!

Want to knock up your own tasty fajita spice mix in seconds, and know what's in it?

This is my delicious fajita spice mix, similar to commercial brands which you simply sprinkle over your chicken (or beef) strips and stir in just before you cook it - no need to marinate, and you just stir together the spices. It couldn't be more simple, and you know what's in it!

If you don't have onion powder or garlic powder, no problem, you just grate fresh garlic and onion onto the chicken (or beef) and stir in before you add the spice mix, and it tastes just as great either way!

This makes enough to make a generous serving for four people (using 640g chicken cut into 1/4 inch strips, 3 red/orange/yellow peppers, and two small-medium onions - see below for instructions how to use). Easy to double (or more) and store. This quantity makes about 5 x 15ml tbsp, so if you make a big batch, just measure this out for a 4 person serving.

Chicken in a Smoky Chipotle Chilli and Tomato Sauce

Spice up chicken breasts with a sauce redolent of Mexican flavours in this easy oven-baked dish.

Delicious served with my Mexican 'Green Rice' (which has a cauliflower rice option too to cut down the calories and carbs), and Cheat's Mexican 'Pot' Beans with a dollop of sour cream (or Greek yoghurt if you're counting the calories) and a quick fresh Tomato Salsa (as pictured).

Do something a little bit different for dinner, and easily tailor the heat to suit your tastes.

Serves four, 216 calories per serving.

Easy Mexican 'Green Rice' - Arroz Verde (with cauliflower rice substitution method)

Give your rice a bit of colour and flavour for a change! Also good the next day as a cold dish.

Rice cooked the Mexican way in chicken stock, flavoured with garlic, coriander, Jalapeno chilli and a squeeze of lime - the next day, add extra lime juice, fresh coriander and a slug of olive oil, and serve cold as a delicious rice salad.

Delicious served with my Chicken in Chipotle sauce and Frijoles di Olla (Mexican beans), or cold the next day with my Yucatecan-Spiced Chicken Skewers and salad.

Serves four to six as a side dish (I eat about an eighth of this quantity!), 191 calories per serving for six servings (scale up or down as appropriate, it's 144 calories for an eighth etc. ). [Calories in square brackets]

If making with cauliflower rice (see Variations below), 78 calories per serving between six; 117 calories per serving if served between four, .

Cheat's Frijoles di Olla (Mexican 'Pot' Beans) and Frijoles Refritos ('Re-Fried Beans')

If you can't get hold of dried black or pinto beans, then use tinned in this quick cheat's version!

Save on the hours of soaking and boiling, by using pre-cooked beans and cooking them in a little of their own liquid with onions and garlic until the alliums are cooked out and the sauce thickens.

Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream (or dairy free substitute, or half fat Creme Fraiche, or even Greek yoghurt if you're counting calories) and Fresh Mexican Salsa, as a side dish, or use as a vegetarian filling for tortillas and tacos with the sour cream and salsa and some grated cheese and shredded lettuce or Napa cabbage. These were lovely served alongside my Chicken in Chipotle Chilli Sauce.

If you want to add to the authenticity of the flavour and texture, you can add a further tablespoon of lard to the beans while they're cooking, but I haven't included this in the recipe. For 'Re-Fried' beans, see Notes at the bottom. You could also cook them in an earthenware pot if you have one suitable to go on the hob, which is how they would be traditionally cooked in Mexico.

Serves six, 110 calories per serving.

Fresh Mexican Salsa (Salsa Mexicana Cruda)

Tasty, versatile and can be prepared in a matter of minutes.

Great with all kinds of Mexican food, especially as a topping for Mexican style beans with some sour cream, in wraps, or as a side dish for spicy meat and fish dishes, like my Yucatecan-Spiced Chicken Skewers.

I prefer to chop my tomatoes by hand, but like to throw all of the other ingredients into the food processor for a quick blitz to save on time, then just stir everything together and garnish with a few extra coriander leaves.

Serves four, 17 calories per serving.

Yucatecan Pickled Onions

No cooking, just mix the ingredients together the day before - great with all kinds of Mexican food as a condiment.

Common in Yucatecan kitchens these will keep a good while in the fridge, and are great as a garnish to pep up Mexican food, particularly added to Escabeche, or with a splash of sour cream in a wrap, or on top of beans, or with a salad.

Make them a few hours ahead - preferably the day before, to allow the flavours to infuse into the onions.

Approximately 15 calories for a heaped forkful (around 1 tbsp, drained).

Yucatecan-Spiced Chicken Skewers (with Thermomix method)

Why not try some Mexican flavours on the BBQ for a change?

Warm spices, citrus and toasted oregano give these a real depth of flavour and they're delicious served with rice (like my easy Mexican 'green' rice - with a method for making with cauliflower rice to cut the carbs and calories if you prefer) or in a wrap, with my quick and easy Mexican-style beans, shredded lettuce or Napa cabbage (Chinese leaf/lettuce), a little sour cream, fresh Mexican Tomato Salsa and maybe some Yucatecan pickled red onions, or even just with a nice big salad if you're being saintly - although tomatoes, avocados, red onions and corn would be great additions, with a squeeze of lime and some fresh coriander... do as much or as little as you fancy!

This quantity will serve eight, but it's easily halved - or you could make it up, marinade it and then freeze portions for a tasty treat another time! Or you could just make up the spice blend, then use half of that along with the rest of the other ingredients halved.

Calories per serving - 151 if using chicken breasts, 208 if using thighs. [Calories in square brackets]

Spicy Blackened Fish Tacos

So, it turns out 'Fish Tacos' were almost my nemesis!

Here we go, the saga of the fish taco, and other things. You can scroll past my bletherings to the recipe at the bottom, which I highly recommend now I'm happy with it!

This serves four people, calories per serving are as follows:

For the blackened salmon - 192 calories
2 'mini' flour tortillas - 174*
1 regular corn tortilla - 123*
Coriander (cilantro) and lime 'crema' - 21
Onions - 6
Roasted tomato, chipotle and jalapeno salsa - 33
Optional chayote/courgette (I've made it with both, and both are delicious in this!) salsa/slaw - 18

Total calories per serving: with one regular corn tortilla - 393 calories; with two 'mini' flour tortillas (as pictured) - 444 calories

*Different brands of tortillas will have different calorific values, which is why I've separated all of the different components of this dish, so you can work out the overall value of your meal if your tortillas are different to the ones I use.

Chayote and Lime Salsa or Slaw

A quick and easy recipe for a salsa or a slaw, depending on how you cut the ingredients!

Great with fish or chicken - especially if it's spicy, or in Mexican style wraps or tacos.

And a great way to have a go at using a new ingredient you might not have tried before - more about the chayote/mirliton/choko/christophene here!

Serves four in wraps as a topping (e.g. 8 regular-sized tortillas) for 18 calories per serving; or two as a side for 36 calories per serving.

Roasted Tomato Salsa with Chipotle and Jalapeño Chillies

Don't be afraid of the chipotle or jalapeño chillies - there are easily sourced ingredients or substitutes, and it's not too hot a salsa, honest!

This is a healthy salsa I put together to go with some fish tacos - it would also be great with either fish (such as sea bass, cod or tuna) or grilled chicken, in a wrap, as a dip, or even in a sandwich with some cream cheese!

Serves four to eight, 24 to 49 calories per portion (depending on whether between four or eight). We made it for four people (to go inside eight tacos) and had half leftover when we'd finished.

Cajun Chicken with Mango Salsa and Baby Leaves

This is one of my favourite stand-bys...

And this post is a little bit like putting a jigsaw together!

I posted my recipe for Cajun Spice / Seasoning Mix separately (although you can just use a pre-made Cajun Seasoning if you wish, such as Schwartz, widely available), as well as posting the Mango Salsa recipe separately too, because they're both so versatile and shouldn't be limited to one dish, or stuck together. Not because I'm lazy, honest! (It would have been less complicated to just do it all as one!).

Cajun-spiced Chicken with Mango Salsa and Baby Leaves

So here it is, all together, and its 210 calories per serving for spiced chicken, salsa and leaves. It's delicious served with rice/cauliflower rice, or oven-baked potato/sweet potato wedges, or even rolled up in a wrap with some half-fat sour cream or a dollop of greek yoghurt (or even mayo!). I have now perfected a cauliflower rice side (with coconut, lime and coriander) that I think will go really well with this, (and I can confirm that it does!) for which there is a link here. Now, to the chicken...

Mango, Red Pepper and Coriander Salsa

Fruity and Fresh, Zingy and Zesty...

This simple salsa with a kick is really versatile - I love it with either spicy or plain grilled, griddled or barbequed chicken, pork or fish - for me it's usually Cajun-spiced chicken, which is one of my staple go-to foods when I want something quick and tasty. It's not much to look at in a bowl on its own, but adds a splash of vibrant colour served alongside grilled meat or fish with a leafy salad and some coconut rice or home-baked potato wedges.

Oh, and if I'm in a rush, or I want to avoid making my eyes water later (you know, when you rub them after chopping up chillies), I sometimes like to throw in a teaspoon of my salted chillies instead of a fresh chilli, which gives a really interesting dimension to the salsa.

It will only take a couple of minutes to make, and you can eat it straight away, or the next day (if you don't add oil or salt, the coriander won't wilt particularly either, and the peppers and onions will stay crunchy, so it will still look and taste pretty fresh if you keep it in the fridge).

This quantity serves four as a small side, for 37 calories per person.