What's for Dinner: Deconstructed Chicken Burrito

Like many parents, family dinner time is very important; healthy meals are paramount.

And like many working parents, getting a healthy meal on the table that doesn't take an eternity to prepare and cook is the key.

I don't know about your kids, but if the clock strikes 6 p.m., my girls are chewing at the drywall. Rushing around after work and trying to figure out what to eat is always stressful, so I came up with another solution to save my own sanity and still get a hot dinner on the table. And it all comes down to planning. Of course.

Meal planning is not a new phenomenon. Take a pop over to good ol' Instagram and you'll see lots of people are doing it. While I don't prep all my veggies days in advance, I do set aside a few hours every weekend to get myself ahead for the week. My freezer is full of meals like frozen meatballs, homemade soups and breaded chicken that still require cooking or heating, but the hard part is done.

Monday nights are a breeze, cause I always make Monday night's dinner on Sunday.

Today we tried a new dinner that wowed everyone -- kids included.

Deconstructed Chicken Burrito

I got my inspiration from some Insta posts from The Basil Box and Burrito Boyz -- those burrito bowls are so good and always make wonderful leftovers.

The Plan Ahead: (You can do this the day before)

After sautéing some chopped onion in EVOO, brown 4-5 chicken breasts and cover with low sodium chicken broth. I seasoned the chicken with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Feel free to add pepper flakes or cayenne. Bring it to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 1-2 hours. Low and slow. You can use a slow cooker too, but I was too lazy to pull mine out. Stovetop works just fine. After a couple of hours, shred the chicken with two forks and keep all the juices in tact. You can transfer to a container or do what I do -- put the entire pot in the fridge (after it's cooled).

The Dinner:

When you get home from work, take that pot of shredded chicken and re-heat. Meanwhile, boil a couple of cups of brown rice, a can of corn, and a can of black beans in separate pots. I kept everything separate, but there's no reason why you can't immediately add the corn and the beans to the chicken. To add more colour, interest and raw veg, shred some Monterey Jack cheese or sharp cheddar, slice an avocado and some tomatoes.

When the rice is cooked, drizzle with EVOO and add a few tbsps. of lime juice. If you have -- or like -- cilantro, that would make a nice touch, too. I also added some olive oil and lime juice to the black beans.

15 minutes. Done.
Serve with tortilla, if you want.

Healthy, fast, affordable and delicious. It's also gluten free, and can be dairy free if you don't include the cheese. The kids got a kick of serving themselves with the different options and making a very colourful dish.

Lots of leftovers for lunch tomorrow, too!

Meal planning doesn't have to be super stressful, and neither do healthy dinners.

Enjoy.