Mexican Night In on a Budget – BBQ Chicken Enchiladas and Spicy Garlic Fries (Vegetarian/Vegan Options)

To me Mexican Night has always been associated  getting together with friends or family and an excuse to have lots of food. However, this doesn’t have to break the bank or send you running to the gym.

Yes, the local pub has Mexican Night. But to me that takes away the whole point of it. It’s meant to be about the preparation. If having food with friends, ask them to bring what they can, use what you’ve got left in fridge, have spaghetti hoops as a side cause why not? The fun with homemade Mexican food is coming together and making and eating food as a group. This was apparent in University. Complete strangers forced to live together, majority can only just mange to boil pasta. Mexican food can be easy and cheap way of socializing.

Due to enchiladas being my favourite, one night I decided to make my own. I had some left over fajita spices that came in an easy-to-make fajita kit and a basic idea of what to do. At first, it was mainly BBQ sauce and a small bit of tomato puree. Eventually, I experimented more and came up with what is now one of my favourite meals. The recipe allows you to add your own spin. It’s easy to substitute the chicken for a vegetarian option, such as sweet potatoes or beans. While for vegans or intolerance’s, the cheese can be removed completely or replaced with dairy free alternatives (I’ve found that Tesco Free From Smoked Cheese works best).

If making this dish for more people, I’ll usually make fries as well. The Spicy Garlic Fries below go well with most meals. I usually use sweet potatoes, but once the basic recipe is mastered, any potato will do. Similarly, any spice and herb combination can be used. I personally prefer fries, but wedges work in a similar way

---

BBQ Chicken Enchilada

Cooking Time; 15-20 minutes
Serves; 4-6 people

Half a diced Onion
3 Chicken Breasts (diced)
3 Whole-grain Wraps
1 Garlic clove/1 tsp. Lazy Chopped Garlic
100ml Tomato Pasata Sauce
3 tbsp. BBQ Sauce
5 tbsp Tomato Puree
2 tsp Fajita seasoning (if not use some paprika, oregano, cumin and extra chili powder)
1/2 tsp Parsley
1 tsp Chili powder
100g Grated Cheese

2-3 tblsp Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Optional; Cut up chives for garnish.

Equipment;

Oven Dish
Frying Pan

What to do; Cooking

• Add oil to frying pan on medium heat, then add chicken, onions and garlic.
• When chicken has almost finished cooking, coat chicken with half the fajita seasoning.
• Once Chicken is cooked turn heat to low, add chili powder, salt, pepper and tomato puree.
• Stir everything until chicken is evenly coated, then add tomato pasata sauce, parsley, half the grated cheese and the rest of the fajita seasoning.
• Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly then move pan off heat.
• Leaving half the BBQ tomato sauce in the pan, evenly distribute the chicken pieces into three wraps, rolling like a burrito and place into oven dish.
• Pour the rest of the sauce on to the wraps, then sprinkle the grated cheese over the top.
• Place under the grill for ten minutes for the cheese to melt
• Optional; Garnish with chives, and serve with rocket leaves.

 

---

Spicy Garlic Fries

Cooking Time; 20-25 minutes
Serves; 3-4 people

4 Large Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes
3 tbls. Olive Oil

1-2tsp. Paprika
1/2 tsp. Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp Parsely
1/4 tsp Thyme

Pinch of Salt and Pepper

Baking Tray with Foil over bottom

What to do;

• Preheat Oven to 200’c and put thin layer of oil over foil on the baking tray.
• Peel Potatoes, cut in half then half again, continue until get to desired size of fries (the larger the fries the longer they will take in the oven).
• Place oil into bowl with half the garlic salt and paprika.
• Mix fries in oil mixture then place evenly across baking tray leaving space between each of the fries.
• Sprinkle the rest of the spices and herbs over the fries.
• Put in the oven for 10 minutes, pull out and flip fries then put back in the oven for a further ten minutes.
• Optional; Sprinkle grated cheese over the fries.