Freakin’ Awesome Chicken Quesadillas

Freakin’ Awesome Chicken Quesadillas!!

Quesadillas are certainly a huge favorite among those I cook for on a regular basis! Besides tasting “really good!” as one reviewer said, they are easy to create and pack lots of color into one meal 🙂

I begin with the following ingredients-

-Organic chicken breasts. Whole Foods carries Mary’s Organic Heirloom chicken, which is my personal fav!

-Grated cheese…..I used a combo of pepper-jack and cheddar cheese. Grass-fed, organic, and grated in the food processor at home

-Veggies…..poblano peppers, mushrooms, and onions are what I used today, but these could easily be subbed for tomatoes, bell peppers, olives or whatever else you fancy 🙂

-Diced jalapeños/green chilis, which provide extra flavor

-Butter, for grilling the quesadillas

Plus…..

-Tortillas. Feel free to use your favorite kind. I have found these amazing ones at Sprouts. Full of flavor, they are soft and the perfect size for these delicious quesadillas! And…..

Don’t forget the spices!! I tend to mix it up a bit differently each time, but here are the staples I used today……Chili powder, chipotle powder, chipotle peppers, Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper 🙂

Turn on your oven broiler and get it nice and hot! Wash and slice the peppers, removing the seeds. Place on a tray, and broil in the oven for 6-8 minutes, keeping a close eye on them so they do not char too badly 🙂

*Cooking note* Poblano peppers are a mild kind of pepper, providing flavor but not death heat!

This is the ensuing result……

Meanwhile, prepare your chicken. An easy way to do this is to poach it. Place the chicken in a pan and cover completely with water. Add a lid on top and heat to boiling. Once the water is hot, reduce heat to low, and allow it to simmer for approximately 15 minutes until done. You can leave it alone while preparing the remaining veggies 🙂

Once the chicken is done, remove it to a plate or cutting board so it can cool off…..

Slice and quarter the onions. Wash and quarter the mushrooms.

I throw them straight into the pan I’m going to sauté them in. Add a bit of butter and some of the diced jalapeños!!

Add lots of the spices on top, and go ahead and cook them up 🙂

Next step is to chop up the poblano chilis……

And add them to the rest of the veggies once they’re cooked.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred or dice it up, add more spices and the remaining diced jalapeños 🙂 If you would like, heat it up in the pan you used for the veggies for a couple minutes to add some crispiness to the chicken. Delic!!

Now it is assembly time 🙂 I recommend doing this straight in the pan you will cook them in, as the quesadillas can be tricky to transfer and you may well lose ingredients otherwise. Turn the heat on low, melt a bit of butter and then layer it up! Start with a tortilla, then add cheese, the veggies and chicken. Add a bit more cheese and the second tortilla…..

Once it’s all layered, feel free to turn the heat up a bit and get it nice and toasty!! You want the cheese to get nice and melted but not the tortillas to burn. The trickiest part is honestly to flip them over without losing a lot of the fillings to the pan. When the bottom layer of cheese is melted and the tortilla gains some good color you know it’s time. Do the best you can and don’t worry about the rest. The bits that get extra cooked taste great!

The finished result- wow!!!

This is totally worth the effort. People will love you for it!!

Accompanied with a refreshing salad…….

And delicious fruit 🙂

Here is the carnage of my pan after the fact!! Lol.

 

*Freakin’ Awesome Chicken Quesadillas*

Serves 8

Ingredients~

-16 tortillas

-1 ½ lbs organic chicken

-16 oz pepper-jack/cheddar cheese, shredded

-2 poblano chilis

-8 oz mushrooms

-2 onions

-1 small can jalapeños/green chilis

-Butter, for grilling

-Spices! Chili powder, chipotle powder, chipotle peppers, Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper are all good ideas 🙂

To Create~

* Turn on your oven broiler and get it nice and hot! Wash and slice the peppers, removing the seeds. Place on a tray, and broil in the oven for 6-8 minutes, keeping a close eye on them so they do not char too badly 🙂

* Meanwhile, prepare your chicken. An easy way to do this is to poach it. Place the chicken in a pan and cover completely with water. Add a lid on top and heat to boiling. Once the water is hot, reduce heat to low, and allow it to simmer for approximately 15 minutes until done. You can leave it alone while preparing the remaining veggies 🙂 Once the chicken is done, remove it to a plate or cutting board so it can cool off…..

* Slice and quarter the onions. Wash and quarter the mushrooms. I throw them straight into the pan I’m going to sauté them in. Add a bit of butter and some of the diced jalapeños!! Add lots of the spices on top, and go ahead and cook them up 🙂

* Next step is to chop up the poblano chilis…….Add them to the rest of the cooked veggies.

* When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred or dice it up, add more spices and the remaining diced jalapeños 🙂 If you would like, heat it up in the pan you used for the veggies for a couple minutes to add some crispiness to the chicken. Delic!!

* Now it is assembly time 🙂 I recommend doing this straight in the pan you will cook them in, as the quesadillas can be tricky to transfer and you may well lose ingredients otherwise. Turn the heat on low, melt a bit of butter and then layer it up! Start with a tortilla, then add cheese, the veggies and chicken. Add a bit more cheese and the second tortilla…..

* Once it’s all layered, feel free to turn the heat up a bit and get it nice and toasty!! You want the cheese to get nice and melted but not allow the tortillas to burn. The trickiest part is honestly to flip them over without losing a lot of the fillings to the pan. When the bottom layer of cheese is melted and the tortilla gains some good color you know it’s time. Do the best you can and don’t worry about the rest. The bits that get extra cooked taste great!

* You did it!!!

 

This recipe is……

* S/F (sugar-free)

* G/F (gluten-free), providing you use corn tortillas that are gluten-free

* Great for lunches the next day 🙂

* Easy to prepare with others. Have friends or family help with the chopping! Or simply around for conversation while you create amazing food.

 

Potential variations….

* Kick it up with random spices! Cumin, garlic salt, garlic powder and chili flakes would all make excellent options.

* Mix up the cheeses. Feel free to be as adventurous as you like, or even use up what you already have on hand 🙂

* Change up the veggies and meat that you use……grilled shrimp, leftover steak or ground beef, bell peppers and olives would all be delicious choices.

 

“Life is too short to be lived in anything but extreme fullness and bravery.”