Grilled Southwestern Chicken Quesadillas
Grilled Southwestern Quesadillas
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 Tomato
- Juice of 1 Lime
- 1 Small Jalapeno Seeds Removed
- 3 Tbsp Chopped Cilantro
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
- 1/2 Yellow Onion
Quesadilla
- 8-10 Tortillas
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 1 Green Bell Pepper
- 1 Yellow Onion
- 4-6 Oz Crimini Mushrooms
- 3-4 Cups Grated Cheese
Instructions
- Put the onion, tomato, jalapeno, cilantro, and garlic into a blender. Blend until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients for the marinade to the blender, and blend everything together until completely smooth. Add 2-4 chicken breasts to a gallon sized zip-lock bag. Pour the mixture from the blender into the gallon bag with the chicken. Seal the bag and massage the marinade into the chicken until each piece is covered. Put the bag on a large plate or bowl and let marinate in the fridge for 2-4 hours.
- Cut the green pepper, red pepper, and onion into strips. Cut the mushrooms into slices. Don’t cut them too thin or they will cook down too much. Place the peppers, onion, and mushrooms into a grill basket or grill safe pan. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Place in the fridge until you are ready to cook.
- Preheat your grill for direct, high heat cooking. Remove the chicken from the bag and place each piece directly on the grill grates. Grill the chicken, flipping as little as possible, until its internal temperature reads 165 Degrees F. Take the chicken off the grill and place on a plate to rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting.
- While the chicken is resting, place the grill basket or grill safe pan full of veggies on the grill grates. Cook them, until they soften and start to slightly char. Flip, or toss them every couple minutes so they don’t burn. Remove the veggies from the grill and set aside.
- Cut the chicken into chunks. Place 2 tortillas on the grill over medium-low heat. Once they have really light grill marks, flip each tortilla. Sprinkle both tortillas with grated cheese. Put chunks of chicken on one tortilla, and grilled veggies on the other. While the cheese is melting, make sure the tortillas don’t burn. Once the cheese is mostly melted, remove the tortillas and sandwich them together so the veggies, and chicken are in the middle and the tortillas are on the outside. Repeat the process until you run out of chicken and veggies.
- Cut each quesadilla into four slices and enjoy! They are amazing dipped in my AVOCADO CILANTRO LIME DRESSING.
Blog Post
I am a huge quesadilla fan. When I don’t feel like doing a whole lot of cooking, or don’t really have a ton of time, my options are usually grilled cheese, or quesadillas. We always have cheese and tortillas in the fridge, so quesadillas are a frequent meal, or snack at our house.
These quesadillas are a bit more work than the classic cheese and tortilla that we are all used to. The advantage here, is that you end up with an explosion of different flavors. Regular grilled chicken is fine and all, but I wanted to hit the Southwestern end of the flavor spectrum. When I picture Southwestern food, I see lots of amazing spices like chili powder, and cumin. I also see grilled vegetables like onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms. All of these awesome things pair together perfectly.
You can always just use grilled chicken with simple seasonings, but to get more flavor, try out this awesome marinade. It uses awesome produce, and spices that combine to make an amazing grilled chicken.
A cool part of this recipe, is that you can do everything on a grill. You don’t have to, but you can. Grab your favorite cheese, pick up some amazing produce at the grocery store, fire up the grill, and enjoy an amazing quesadilla.