Friday, January 10, 2025

Two votes for best, two for not the best

The Best Chicken Quesadillas are not what my kids would call the best... they ate them and said they liked them but not the cheese. You see, I took my new fancy grater and shredded actual blocks of cheese rather than the slices of American cheese which is normally what they have in their quesadillas... so these were NOT what they were hoping for. But Andy and I were all about these, yes I added more salt - I always do. Yesterday we found out Andy should be eating low carb - so that was a fun wrinkle - I used some low carb wraps I just bought a few weeks ago and tossed in the freezer, so they worked wonderful for this. I loved the addition of the veggies and the fancy shredded cheese. I had baked my chicken a few days early so I reheated it a little before putting these together. I kept them warm in the oven as I heated them up in the skillet. These were a winner for the adults - but perhaps expectations needed to be adjusted for kids, can't win them all.. just some, sometimes.

The Best Chicken Quesadillas
Seasoning Mix:
1 teaspoon salt (I use coarse, kosher salt)
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon paprika, smoked or regular
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Quesadillas:
4 cups cooked, chopped chicken
1 tablespoon oil
2-3 cups sliced mushrooms
2 medium bell peppers (any color), cored and sliced into thin strips
1 large onion, sliced into thin half moon strips
2-3 tablespoons broth or water
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded medium or sharp cheddar cheese
8 8-inch flour tortillas

Instructions
In a small bowl, add all the seasoning ingredients. Mix well.
Toss the chicken with 1/2 of the seasoning mixture. Set aside.
In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms (if using), onions, and bell peppers. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning mixture over the veggies. Cook, stirring often, until the onions start to turn translucent and the vegetables start to soften.
Add 2-3 tablespoons water or broth (omit this if there is already liquid in the pan from the mushrooms or other veggies). Continue cooking over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the veggies are crisp-tender and the liquid has reduced slightly.
Assemble the quesadillas by spreading cheese on 1/2 of each tortilla. Top the cheese with chicken, veggies, more cheese, and then fold the tortilla in half over the filling ingredients.
Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet (or griddle) over medium or medium-low heat. Add a touch of oil to the pan for a crispier quesadilla. Cook the quesadillas on one side until golden, moderating the heat as needed, pressing lightly with a spatula to compress and flatten a bit, if desired. Carefully flip the quesadillas with the spatula and cook on the other side until the tortilla is golden and the filling and cheese is hot and melted.
Cut into triangles and serve immediately. (Or keep the cooked quesadillas warm on a baking sheet in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.)

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