One of our favorite meals when we have cheese, a few veggies and leftover chicken sitting around. There are endless possibilities of what can be added between 2 heavenly tortillas, so we'll lay out some of our go-tos and some sneaky tips to ensure yours are a hit.
A Few Tips:
We'll be using flour tortillas, and high quality ones. You can follow this recipe to make your own: https://www.lemonpantry.com/post/flour-tortillas
Having your food and stations prepared is essential to pull off perfect, sizzling hot quesadillas.
Use good melting cheeses, and use finely shredded to ensure they melt (unlike one of our pictures below). The classics are monterrey jack, chihuahua, cheddar and colby jack cheeses.
Don't overstuff the quesadilla. The most important element is the melted cheese, and too much stuffing will interfere with that process. The quesadilla should be no thicker than a slice of toast.
Use tasty leftover chicken. Preferably grilled or pan seared, and prepared with tex-mex seasonings. Chicken breast or thighs both work, we prefer breast as the cheese and grease from the cooking process can make the thighs a little too rich.
https://www.lemonpantry.com/post/chicken-poblano-and-lime-crema-rice-bowl
Equipment
Preferably a cast iron , or a non stick pan that will be used for both the stuffing prep, and the quesadilla cooking. Make sure it's large enough for your tortillas.
A pan to reheat/prep the tortillas - non stick or comal
A bowl to keep the chicken/veggie stuffing
Spatula for flipping and pressing the quesadilla
A cutting board or plate to transfer the hot quesadillas off the pan.
Cutting Board and Knife to chop the final product
Ingredients (makes 4 med-small quesadillas)
Avocado Oil
1 large or 2 medium chicken breasts - cooked and finely chopped
Style 1: Poblano Pepper - Chihuahua
1/2 a large poblano pepper- chopped or cut into strips/julienned
1/2 medium yellow onion - sliced/julienned
7 oz of chihuahua cheese - finely shredded
Style 2: Bell Pepper - Cheddar, Monterrey Jack
1/4 a medium/large red bell pepper - chopped or cut into strips/julienned
1/4 a medium/large green bell pepper - chopped or cut into strips/julienned
1/2 medium yellow onion - sliced/julienned
7 oz of 3 cheese mix - finely shredded
Optional:
Corn kernels, Zucchini, other chile peppers
Accompaniments
Hot Sauce
Pico de Gallo (diced tomato, onions, cilantro, jalapeno peppers, lime, salt)
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Steps
Have all of your stuffing ingredients prepared in bowls, plates or on a cutting board
Start a non stick skillet/saute pan on medium heat.
Add olive oil, then add the onions and peppers (and optional ingredients). if adding zucchini or other vegetables that aren't consumed raw, allow for time for them to cook.
Once the peppers and onions have caramelized and softened, add the chopped chicken, and stir around until incorporated and warm.
Set the chicken - vegetables mix aside in a bowl
Meanwhile, in another skillet, reheat your tortillas quickly by adding one to a pan, with a touch of avocado oil, and heat on each side for 2 minutes. Set aside and cover, with towels or a bowl with a lid.
Now back to the original skillet, bring to medium high heat
Prepare half of the quesadilla on a board or plate- First add a layer of cheese, then the chicken and vegetable mix.
Once to temperature, add a teaspoon of avocado oil to the pan, and then place down the open faced tortilla on the pan.
Add another layer of cheese on top of the cihcken and veggies, be careful not to allow a lot to spill onto the pan..
Add the other tortilla on top of the cheese, and press down.
Allow to cook for about 3 minutes, and then flip , with the spatula.. If you are scared to flip directly into the hot pan, just remove it, and do the flipping on a plate or cutting board,then return to heat.
Press down again, allow to cook for 2 more minutes, add any olive oil if desired. The cheese should be melted at this point.
Remove from the pan to a cutting board. Allow to cool for 3 minutes
Chop the quesadillas into 2 halves of 4 quarters.
Before moving onto a second quesadilla, remove any burnt crisps from the pan.
reheating 2 tortillas at a time.
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