Quick, Easy and Delicious, Quesadillas

My family and I use to do a Grilled Cheese and Soup night for dinner about once a week or so. Quick, easy and delicious right? But so greasy. One night we are at "Moe's Southwest Grill", my wife ordered a quesadilla. I'm watching as we normally do, and it hit me, "How easy is that?" I decided to give it a try for myself. After a few attempts here is what I came up with.

I started with just canned chicken, cheese and tortillas. They were okay but nothing to write home about. (or instructables) Next I decided to try some taco seasoning in the chicken. A whole package is way too much. I finally ended up using 1/4 of a package per can of chicken. I generally mix up a couple cans at a time and keep some in the fridge for a quick lunch or snack. You could, of course, use fresh ingredients but that would take away from one of the main reasons for this experiment. It was a hit. The whole family loved it and we have almost replaced greasy cheese night. (still good every once and a while) 

Step 1: Ingredients

We shop at Wal-Mart, feel free to substitute other brands or non-brands.

- Shredded cheese (We like the Colby-Jack shredded cheese, it is a good blend for just about any recipe.)
- Chunk White Chicken Breasts.
- Taco seasoning (We use mild) 
- Soft Taco Size Tortillas

Step 2: Preparing

Open can of chicken and drain juice. Drop into a microwave safe bowl and break up chunks. Add 1/4 of a package of taco seasoning. Then microwave for about a minute. This will activate the seasoning and reconstitute the dried onions in most taco seasonings.

At this time you could saute some onions or anything else you want to add to the quesadilla. If I add onion, I do it separately as not everyone wants it. I just chop up half an onion into a microwave safe bowl add two tablespoons of butter and microwave for 2 min. It is not really sauteed but who has time for that. (really a sweat) You could do the same for bell peppers.

Step 3: Cooking

With all the ingredients prepared, It is time to cook.
In a medium hot frying pan, place a tortilla in the center. Add and scatter about a half cup of cheese. Add any other ingredients to half of the tortilla.

Step 4: Folding and Flipping

After you see the cheese start to melt you will fold the tortilla over into half. (about a minute) Another 30 seconds and flip it to the other side. Should be nice and toasty, not burnt. Another 30 seconds and move it to your cutting board.

After you do your fold you can start the next quesadilla. Just put all of the ingredients to one side and fold it right off. Allow a little more time on the second side to toast it properly. It ends up like an assembly line and greatly speeds things up.

Step 5: Cutting and Plating

I like to use a rolling pizza cutter. I cut it down the center and again down the center of the two slices. We generally like salsa and sour cream but, you could add other goodies like guacamole or sauteed onions or ranch dip, you name it.

I put the lid on my chicken mix and it will keep safely for a couple days. Obviously, chicken products should not be saved for more than a couple days for bacteria safety reasons. I work from home, with this I can have a quick hot lunch. My only mess afterwards is the griddle skillet.

ENJOY!