Dyan Damron from Coach D Consulting made Fajita-Style Quesadillas. For more of Dyan’s recipe makeovers, go to www.coachdconsulting.com. Follow @CoachDyanDamron on Twitter.
Fajita Style Quesadillas
Ingredients:
1½ t each chili powder, cumin, kosher salt
1 t black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper, to taste
1½ lbs chicken tenders
1 cup diced red onion
1 cup diced bell pepper (I use mix of yellow, orange, red bell peppers)
¾ cup diced poblano pepper
2-4 T extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
10 flour tortillas (taco style – 8-inch)
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
Toppings: salsa, sour cream, shredded iceberg lettuce, guacamole
Directions:
Add chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne to a small bowl and mix well. Spread chicken tenders out and sprinkle with half of the seasoning. Turn tenders and over and sprinkle with other half. Make sure the chicken is evenly coated on all sides. Allow to rest while you heat up the skillet.
For this recipe, I highly recommend using a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Heat the skillet to medium heat. Once pan is hot, add about a teaspoon of EVOO then add chicken tenders in one layer. Careful to not overlap as you want to create a crust – this will take a few batches to get the chicken cooked. Cook chicken on each side for about 2 minutes – chicken will get brown and charred on the outside and will become firm when pressed. Add EVOO as needed between flipping and adding chicken. Remove cooked chicken to a separate cutting board and allow to cool. Once chicken is finished, keep heat at medium and add another teaspoon of EVVO and unseasoned onions and peppers to the hot pan. Use a spatula to scrape seasoning from pan and allow onions and peppers to get coating in the residual seasoning and brown bits. This will take 3-5 minutes – onions and peppers should soften and get browned on edges. You will want to stir some, but don’t stir too much so you allow them to get browned. Remove cooked onions and peppers to a separate bowl/plate.
Cut chicken tenders into 1/4 -inch strips. And turn cast iron pan heat down to medium low. Add ½ teaspoon EVOO to pan. Lay down one tortilla. Immediately add a pinch of cheese to half of the tortilla, followed by 1/10 of the chicken and 1/10 of the onions and peppers on top of the cheese. Then add another pinch of cheese on top of chicken, onions, and peppers. Fold over the empty half of the tortilla to cover cheese. Allow to cook on med-low for about 1-2 minutes, checking the underside regularly to ensure browning. Once underside is brown, use a large spatula to flip quesadilla over (flip toward fold to not lose fillings) and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the second side is golden brown. Remove cooked quesadilla to a cutting board. Allow to cool while you repeat the same process with remaining 9 tortillas, cheese, chicken, and onions and peppers. If you want to keep cooked quesadillas warm, you can place them on a cooling rack on top of a baking pan and keep them in a warm (250-degrees or less) oven.
To serve, cut the quesadillas with a sharp knife into thirds. Serve with typical fajita toppings – or any of your favorite taco toppings and garnishes.
These quesadillas are amazing served hot, but are also good room temp. They also keep very well in the fridge for a few days.
