Fast Chicken Fajitas – TGI Fridays on a diet

TGI Fridays was a regular destination for me when I lived in Sheffield, but as much as I loved the food it didn’t love my waistline or wallet! Fast Chicken Fajitas from the Hairy Dieters is about as close as I can get to re-creating the TGI effect when watching my weight and can be rustled up for around £2 per person.

This recipe is perfect for a Friday night when you’re fancying a ‘treat’ without resorting to a takeaway and only takes about 10 minutes to cook. I recommend prepping the ingredients in advance and then you can literally throw everything into the pan.

Fancying a Mexican love-in? Why not incorporate Breakfast Omelette Burritos and Chilli Con Carne into your weekly menu?

Recipe: Fast Chicken Fajitas

Calories: 443 calories per portion

Serves: 4

Book: Hairy Dieters – Eat for Life

Prep time: Approx 20 minutes

Cooking time: Approx 10 minutes

Ingredients: 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (each about 150g), freshly squeezed juice of ½ lime, 1 ½ tsp ground cumin, 1 ½ tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp hot chilli powder, 2 little gem lettuces (trimmed and finely shredded), 3 tbsp half-fat crème fraiche, 8 tbsp ready-made fresh tomato salsa dip, 1 tbsp sunflower oil, 1 yellow pepper (deseeded and sliced), 1 red pepper (deseeded and sliced), 1 medium red onion (cut into 12 wedges), 3 tbsp cold water, 8 small flour tortillas, lime wedges for squeezing (optional), flaked sea salt, ground black pepper

Cost per portion: Approx £2.06

Method: Trim off any visible fat from the chicken breasts, then cut them into thin strips and put these in a bowl. Pour over the lime juice and sprinkle with the cumin, coriander, oregano and chilli powder. Season with salt and back pepper and toss well.

Put the shredded lettuce, crème fraiche and salsa in separate bowls.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Stir-fry the marinated chicken for 3 minutes over a medium-high heat until lightly browned, stirring to scrape any spices off the bottom of the pan. Top the chicken on to a plate.

Put the pan back on the heat and add the peppers and onion. Stir-fry for a few seconds then add the 3 tablespoons of cold water and steam-fry for 3 minutes more until the veg are beginning to soften and lightly brown.

Put the chicken back in the pan and cook with the vegetables for 1-2 minutes more until cooked through – check that no pinkness remains. While the chicken and vegetables are frying, heat the tortillas according to the packet instructions.

Serve the warm tortillas topped with the shredded lettuce, sizzling chicken and vegetables from the pan, tomato salsa and half-fat crème fraiche. Serve with an extra squeeze of lime if you like.