Fajita Quinoa Stuffed Chicken Thighs

Well, having just returned from Mexico late last night, I realized that I have never posted this amazing recipe. In Mexico, we had some amazing Mexican food, so naturally I have to come home and make some dishes that are inspired by popular Mexican favorites.

I will be posting some more recipes inspired by our trip very soon: a green juice, a killer pico de gallo recipe and more.

For now, enjoy this stuffed chicken thigh recipe that packs some flavor.

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INGREDIENTS

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1 cup cooked quinoa

1 cup Trader Joes Fire Roasted Bell Peppers & Onions*

2-6 cloves of garlic, diced

1 small bunch of spinach (about 1/3-1/2 cup) cut into ribbons

2 TB fresh cilantro**

2 TB hatch chilies**

1/4 cup shredded cheese**

Salt & Pepper to taste

dash of cumin

5 chicken thighs, boneless & skinless

If you like spice/heat, add in some jalapeño or whatever you like to turn up the heat. I am a wimp and do not care for anything too spicy, but if you love spicy, make it as spicy as you want!

*You can use about 1/4 a cup yellow onion, 1/4 cup of each red, yellow and green bell peppers if you do not wish to use the Trader Joes frozen veggies.

**Optional ingredients

Directions:

Cook your quinoa according to instructions. You can use white, red or tri-colored quinoa. Set oven to 425 degrees.

Add about 1 TB of olive oil to a medium sized skillet on medium-high heat. Sauté until veggies are heated and no longer frozen.

Add in your diced garlic and stir.

Add in your cooked quinoa and stir.

Add in your ribboned spinach and stir until spinach is cooked. Put a pinch of sea salt and pepper to your taste as well as a dash of cumin. Turn off heat and set aside.

Pound your chicken thighs so they are thin. They will taste better and allow you to stuff them easier. I like to cut down the side of a large ziplock bag so it opens from 2 of the 4 sides. Then stick one chicken thigh in at a time (open) and pound it on both sides until it's thin. It will be delicate, and I promise it will taste better this way! Here is why you should pound your chicken...

Place one of the chicken thighs on an empty dish (you could also use a plastic placemat) and spread it out. Place 1/5th of the mixture on one end of your chicken thigh and proceed to roll it to the other end. (see photos below)

Place rolled chicken thighs in a baking dish.

Bake chicken for 25 minutes. Take chicken thighs out and add shredded mozzarella if you like and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes. If you wish to skip this step and do not want cheese, just bake the chicken for 25 - 35 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, you can up cook some broccolini, black beans and even whip up some guacamole, pico de gallo and/or cashew cream (vegan/dairy free sour cream).

I hope you enjoy this chicken recipe!