Chicken And Caramelized Onion Quesadilla

After a hard day of working, be it a 9 to 5 job, caring for your children while doing house work or working outside in your garden, you sometimes want a meal that is easy to put together and that will be welcomed by the whole family. After a long day of working in my orchard, I wanted something that was fast to put together but very tasty.

Chicken And Caramelized Onion Quesadilla

Quesadillas came to mind because I had all the necessary ingredients in my refrigerator. I had poached chicken breasts (a rotisserie chicken would be prefect or perhaps you have some leftover grilled chicken from the BBQ), caramelized onions and a large piece of pepper jack cheese.  Flour tortillas, fresh tomatoes, an avocado, sour cream and some fresh cilantro and I knew I could have this meal on the table in no time at all.

Chicken And Caramelized Onion Quesadilla

This recipe makes one quesadilla, adjust recipe accordingly.

• 2 flour tortillas
• oil to brush the tortillas
• 1/4 to 1/2 c. shredded pepper jack cheese (or any easy to melt cheese)
• 1/4 to 1/2 c. caramelized onions (2 onions, sliced and cooked about 20 min.)
• 1/4 to 1/2 c. cooked and shredded chicken
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp. chipotle chili powder
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 c. sautéed red bell peppers
• 1 sliced and sautéed jalapeño (or sliced pickled jalapeños) or to taste
• 1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
• lime wedges to garnish

Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in pan and add chicken, cumin, paprika, chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Mix and cook until just heated through.

Assembling The Chicken And Caramelized Onion Quesadilla

Brush one side of the tortilla with oil and place in a non stick pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheese, then add the onions, chicken, bell peppers, jalapeños, the last 1/2 of the cheese, and the cilantro. Top with the second tortilla and brush with oil. Cook on medium heat until golden, turn and cook until golden on the other side. Remove from the pan and let rest a couple of minutes before slicing. Garnish with lime wedges.

I served the quesadillas with fresh tomato salsa, guacamole, and a cumin seasoned sour cream. For a more complete meal, you could serve rice and beans alongside.  Of course, an icy margarita would go very nicely with this meal.