Ok, so I’ve got some decent cheese, and tortillas. As I’ve said before, I have little in the way of spices, and am going to be making some Chicken Quesadilla’s tonite for dinner.
Shred cheese, cook chicken, place between 2 tortillas, grill.
What I’m looking for is a simple way to cook the chicken that will make it more flavorful, and more “mexican” without having to spend more than a few bucks.
Also keep in mind that spicy hot is a no-no in our house.
I’ve got taco seasoning, the basics of bachelor spices (despite being married) and that’s about it.
It’s not a “Mexican” recipe, exactly, but it will give your chicken a little something extra, and I use chicken cooked like this is quesadillas all the time. For a pound of chicken, combine the following in a mixing bowl or equivalent:
[ul]
[li]¼ cup vinegar (white or cider, the kind that is 89¢ a bottle)[/li][li]¼ cup vegetable oil[/li][li]1 teaspoon garlic powder[/li][li]1 teaspoon dried oregano[/li][li]crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (optional, for a little bit of heat, if you want it)[/li][/ul]
Cut chicken into thin strips. Add chicken strips to vinegar mixture and toss to mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. Remove from marinade. Cook in skillet over high heat until chicken is done. Discard any unused marinade.
If you have any bell peppers, you can cut them into thin strips as well and marinate along with the chicken. If you use one small bell pepper and 1 lb. of chicken, you won’t need to adjust the recipe. Otherwise, adjust the recipe based on what you’ve got. Good luck!
Sometimes for simple, flavorful chicken for fajitas, I’ll marinate strips of it in some soy sauce and a bit of oil (a mixture of vegetable oil and sesame oil) before stir-frying. I realise that this isn’t a typical Mexican flavor system, but tastes great with the normal fajita stuff. Might work for quesadillas, too.
Google “chicken fajita marinade” for plenty of ideas on where to start.
If you have a store like HEB or Fiesta in your area they often sell pre marinade fajita meats.
24 hour simple marinade with soy sauce and lime juice (for beginners) or a ready made fajita marinade from the store (even easier). Add grilled onions in the dillias, and serve Sour cream/Guacamole on the side.
Is there anything cheaper or as simple that will add more “Mexican flavor” than Pico de gallo?
Season it with ground cumin, a pinch of chili powder, garlic, cinnamon and a dash of unsweetened cocoa powder.
I would be inclined to stew it with the above seasonings in some chicken bouillon. If it’s leg or thigh meat just shred it. Breast meat, you might want to think about moistening it with a little of the broth before you put it into the quesadilla.
I’m assuming you have boneless chicken breasts. Cube the chicken into pieces about 1/2 an inch each, then use the taco seasoning when you cook the chicken. It usually comes out tasting pretty good for me.
You may also want to finely cut two tomatoes and an onion. Drain them in a strainer for 10 to fifteen minutes.[1] (About as long as you’re going to cut and cook the chicken.) Add the vegetables to the cheese. It will add a little flavor.
When we cook quesadillas in my house, we use a large, folded tortilla. It holds together easily. Another thing I’ve learned is to press the quesadillas while I cook them. Just put another skillet on top of the quesadillas.
Serve with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole.
Crap, now I’m hungry again.
[1] Add some shredded cilantro, and congratulations - you’ve got homemade pico de gayo.
Puree lime juice, ripe mango, garlic clove or two, and olive oil in a blender. Salt & Pepper to taste. (lots of salt) Marianade boneless breast of chicken cut into strips for 4-6 hours.
marianading chicken in vinegar and lime for 24 hours can break the chicken down too much.
Now, are you actually “grilling” your quesas?
What I’d do is grill the chicken on skewers.
For quesas, try this: tortilla, cheese, couple slices of onion, tortilla, cheese, couple slices of onion, tortilla. Each quesa is made from 3 tortillas.
Grill one side over medium heat for 30 seconds or so, flip, grill the other side. Melt the cheese but don’t burn the tortillas.
Top with salsa, or reserved marianade that the chicken wasn’t in. Cut into 6 wedges, and top each wedge with a strip of grilled chicken.
Another great spread for the top of a quesa is a cilantro pesto. Use cilantro instead of basil, but make it like normal pesto, with a little lime. I’d highly recommend adding jalapeno to that, but since you say that’s out, leave it out. Lots of salt in that pesto.
I hate the texture of stir-fried chicken, so here’s how I’d do it:
Coat the chicken with some of the taco seasoning. Bake until done but still juicy. Let cool a bit, then shred the chicken (I usually use two forks to shred hot chicken), adding more taco seasoning if desired.
I’m sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I didn’t know if the question I had was worthy of its own.
There’s a neighbor who picks up quesadillas from a distant restaurant and the cheese is wonderful. I’ve tried a few different types of Queso cheese, and it never quite works out. Suggestions on a good cheese for an authentic cheese quesadilla?
I make quesadillas as a way to use up leftovers…chicken, beef, whatever. Store bought Mexican blend shredded cheese or shredded Queso Fresco is what I use. I only put the meat and the cheese inside the quesadilla - cheese first, meat, then a tad more cheese to make the top stick. For a snack I use one tortilla and fold, grill, flip, cut into 3rds. For more of a meal, I use one tortilla for the bottom and one for the top and build it in the pan. Use a big spatula to flip, then cut into wedges. I put the condiments (salsa, sour cream, guac) on top and eat up.
1/4 cup soy sauce
The zest of one lime
1 (zested) lime, squeezed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder, or chipotle chile powder, or ancho chili powder
2 tbs olive oil
Marinade for at least an hour or up to 6 hours in a plastic bag. Grill over medium heat until internal temp of 170°. Let rest for 15 minutes, then slice into strips.
In the meantime, saute some onions and bell peppers. Place the peppers, onions and sliced chicken on half of a large flour tortilla. Add a bit of shredded monterey jack for glue, then fold in half. Cook in a nonstick pan a few minutes per side, until cheese is melted and tortilla is crispy.
Cut into fourths with a pizza cutter. Make some more.
Typical dipping sauces are guacamole, sour cream, and pico de gallo.
For whatever reason I’ve never considering marinating fajita chicken. I always just hit it with cumin, chili powder and some red pepper and grill it. This thread motivated me and I’m home, bored and hungry so I figured I’d give it a go tonight. I blended some of the suggestions here for this:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp crushed red pepper flake
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
Shook everything up in a container with 3 thawed chicken breasts and it’s now marinating. In a couple hours I’ll let you know how it comes out!
Personally, for quick and easy, flavorful, chicken quesadillas, I would consider just simmering and then shredding chunks of the chicken breast in a bottle of La Victoria Thick and Chunky Mild Salsa Verde on the stove top, for about an hour. Adding a bit of water as needed. The salsa is tomatillo based and very mild- a very tolerable spicieness, lots of flavor and very little heat. La Victoria makes some great salsas, and everything is in there for this particular usage… might cost a couple of bucks for the bottle of salsa, thats it. Maybe garnish the inside of the quesadilla with some simple and fresh pico de gallo minus the chiles (finely chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic, and cilantro) just before grilling/toasting.
Apparently, Asadero (chihuaha cheese)is the cheese of choice for authentic Mexican quseadillas. I have also heard of manchego blends being used… I like Monterey Jack and and sometimes pepper jack, maybe a bit of colby for sharpness if I have it, sometimes some low moisture mozzarella for stringieness and pull, all blended together.
It was OK, not great. The tanginess from the vinegar was really apparent and I’m not entirely sure that it’s a good fit for a Tex-Mex dish. It overpowered the cumin, chili powder and red pepper somewhat giving it a vague similarity to Chicken Vesuvio as opposed to what I expect from the chicken at a burrito joint or a bar quesadilla/fajita.
I may try again sometime by avoiding the vinegar and using soy sauce and lime juice and going heavier on the pepper.
