SOUTHWEST CHICKEN STUFFED SWEET POTATOES

One of my favorite quick and easy dinners is a stuffed baked potato. It’s pretty simple — just pop some potatoes in the oven, and then when they’re done, you can stuff them with literally anything you have on hand. It’s a great use of leftovers, so when you have some leftover veggies or sauces, it’s the perfect way to use them up.

It works well with sweet potatoes too, which you’ll see with this recipe. Not only is this recipe super simple, but it’s also about as healthy as you can get. The sweet potato provides complex carbs, you’ve got your protein covered with your chicken, and then to round it out, you’ve got some veggies tossed with Ava Jane’s Kitchen Avocado Oil for some high quality fats. If you’ve been looking for a Paleo or gluten-free item to add to your weekly dinner rotation, you can count on this one.

Like a lot of the recipes I make, this one came about by trying to utilize odds and ends from my pantry. A can of Rotel tomatoes (diced tomatoes with green chilies), some leftover chopped onion and herbs, and some shredded chicken all tossed in avocado oil and lime juice. Topped off with some crunchy, Colima Sea Salt. If you’re looking for variation, next time I might add some black beans or diced avocado, but I would definitely make this again just as is. The heat from the chilies is perfect for the subtle sweetness of the sweet potatoes, but I would imagine it would be pretty good with a regular Russet potato too.

The only caveat with this recipe is that potatoes, sweet or otherwise, don’t bake super quickly. You’ll need at least an hour depending on the size your potatoes, but it’s all hands off time once you get the potatoes in the oven. I always try to pick medium sized potatoes that are on the narrower side, and the same size throughout (so no potatoes that have fatter ends) so they bake evenly and in about an hour. You can microwave them if you must, but I’m never happy with baked potatoes in the microwave — it’s just not the same, but if you don’t mind the difference, then you’ve just made this an even easier meal.