I am like a proud mother today, boasting about my child winning a spelling bee.
Today, I’m presenting you with the winning recipe from the Inspiralized Community’s March Recipe Challenge.
Not only do I love this recipe, but I’m overjoyed by how creative you all are with spiralizing and honored that you share your creations every day with me, via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and now, the Inspiralized Community.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s so exciting for me to see others spiralizing. Whether you’re spiralizing now because you’re Inspiralized or you’ve been spiralizing for years, it makes me happy.
If you don’t already make sure you hashtag “Inspiralized” (#inspiralized) when posting a picture up on Instagram or just @Inspiralized on any form of social media – it makes my day to go through all of the tagged spiralized dishes. I’ve even been inspired by some of your recipes!
But today’s about the community. I created the community mainly because I wanted all of you to have an area to share your ideas, thoughts, recipes and love for spiralizing.
Every month, I host a “Recipe Challenge.” In this recipe challenge, I offer a theme and ask you all to take the month to create a recipe and post it up. Then, I let my blog readers vote on their favorite recipe.
Finally, the winning recipe is recreated by me, photographed and posted up on Inspiralized.com.
Liz’s winning recipe is: Spicy Mexican Chicken with Plantain Rice & Avocado Mango Salsa.
This meal has everything – spiciness, savoriness, healthiness and flavorfulness. Every bite has mega taste! However, if you don’t like spicy, this dish isn’t for you – it’s got a big kick! The avocado helps soften the spiciness and adds great texture, while the mango balances everything out with its natural sweetness.
I really enjoyed making this recipe – it’s definitely one of those recipes that takes a bit of time to prepare, but is totally worth it. It saved perfectly in the fridge, so it is a handy recipe for dinner and a few days’ worth of lunch leftovers.
I made a few adjustments to the recipe (hope you don’t mind, Liz!), so if you want to see her original, make sure you head on over to the community and check it out in the March Recipe Challenge forum.
Changes include:
- I omitted the Greek yogurt – I thought it took away from the flavor of the rest of the dish and wasn’t needed. If you don’t like spicy, keep the Greek yogurt, it balances out the spice.
- I cut down the measurements for the chicken spices to bring the heat down a bit (I felt that 2 tbsp chili powder and 1 tsp red chili flakes was too much). If you like very spicy, keep it as is.
- I mixed the spices together first before adding to the chicken, instead of adding them one after another. This offers a better balance of flavor.
- I didn’t use honey.
- I added measurements to a few of the ingredients, for ease of follow, as well as reorganizing the directions so they are more step-by-step.
- I omitted the chili powder from the plantain rice, to take down the heat again. If you don’t mind spicy, keep it.
- I omitted the cilantro from the plantain rice, since the salsa has plenty of it and the coriander in the rice is essentially cilantro.
Thank you so much to Liz for creating this recipe and to all of the other entrants! I cannot wait to see what you all come up with for the April Recipe Challenge, which is for The Perfect Side Dish. The contest closes on April 30th.
If you’re not part of the Inspiralized Community already, click here to join (it’s free!) The more people that join, the more exciting opportunities I’ll have for you all.
What do you think of Liz’s recipe?
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 40 minutes mins
Servings 3 -4
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Ingredients
- For the Chicken:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cubed
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp red chilli flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- For Salsa:
- 1 ripe mango peeled and chopped
- 1 avocado chopped
- 1 jalapeno seeds removed and finely minced
- zest and juice of one lime
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- salt and pepper to taste
- For Plantain Rice:
- 3 medium-ripe plantains
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 a yellow onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Combine all of your ingredients for the salsa into a bowl and toss to combine. Set aside in the refrigerator.
Peel the plantains and spiralize them, using Blade C. Place the noodles in a food processor and pulse until the noodles become rice-like. Set aside.
Mix all of your spices for the chicken in a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside. Place a large skillet over medium heat and add in the olive oil for the chicken. Cook until lightly browned and then add in the dry spice mixture and stir to coat the chicken. Then, add the chicken broth and turn down to a simmer, cooking for about 5 minutes. When done, plate into separate dishes for serving.
While the chicken is cooking, place another large skillet over medium heat and add in the olive oil for the plantain rice. Then, add in the onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes and then add in the plantain rice spices. Stir to combine and then add in the plantain rice, cook for 1 minute and then add in the chicken broth. Let reduce fully and add more broth if needed. Cook to your desired consistency, about 5 minutes.
Top the dishes that have chicken in them with the plantain rice and top with mango-jalapeno salsa. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Liz's Recipe on the Inspiralized Community
