Opera Singer in the Kitchen: Stuffed Chicken Fajita Quesadillas #GoAuténtico

When I try to recreate Mexican recipes, my husband usually asks me if the dishes are authentic or more Tex-Mex. When I think of quesadillas they are more a fusion of cultures, with a little Latin flavor and American flavors. It is a more familiar menu item in restaurants, so when I go to my favorite Mexican restaurant I like ordering it either as an appetizer or for dinner but I am sometimes frustrated when the dish ends of being more queso or cheese than the combination that the menu description specified.

Quesadillas taste even better when using authentic ingredients, like Cacique products. I really enjoy using their line of cheese because I know how my finished product will turn out. The dish will be full of flavor and even enhance the rest of the ingredients used for the complete result.

As I sat to create my recipe I looked over at my husband and asked him what he would like in his quesadilla. I hardly ever ask my husband but I thought I would, just to hear his dream quesadilla recipe. I should have known that he would choose bacon and chicken since men are all about those two ingredients but I really decided to go with it. Even though my husband is not Hispanic, he also asked me to put roasted poblanos in my recipe too. Wow. I already knew this recipe was going to be full of flavors.

Since my husband’s ingredient choices were tantalizing, I decided to create a fusion experiment that would be an excellent recipe for all Mexican food lovers or newbies. The process to create this recipe might seem a bit lengthy but the finished product was so tasty and delicious that it made the process so worth it.

I marinated chicken breasts overnight with lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and grilled on the stove top while some bacon slices cooked. After they finished cooking, I sliced 2 medium onions and placed them in the chicken and bacon drippings. I roasted poblanos in the oven for 20 minutes and let them sweat in a Ziploc bag for 15 minutes before peeling the skins and removing seeds.

Stuffed Chicken Fajita Quesadillas

by Noelle Kelly

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Keywords: griddle melted heat grill appetizer entree lunch brunch chicken dairy cheese corn tortillas Cinco de Mayo Mexican Tex-Mex

Ingredients (5-10 servings)

Marinade for chicken

2 chicken breasts ( about 20-ounces )
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced

Quesadilla ingredients

6 bacon slices
2 medium onions, sliced
4 poblano peppers
12-ounces Cacique Ranchero Queso Fresco
10-ounces Cacique Queso Quesadilla
20 corn tortillas

Cacique Crema Fresca

Toppings

2 avocados, pitted , peeled and sliced
½ cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions

Chicken Marinade

Place the chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag with marinade ingredients and let sit in refrigerator overnight.

Roasting Poblanos

Turn on broiler on oven. Wash 4 poblano peppers and dry, placing them on a roasting pan. Brush each pepper lightly with olive oil. Place on upper rack and broil for 7-10 minutes on one side. Peppers will look slightly bubbly, not burned. Rotate peppers and roast for another 7 minutes. Remove from oven and place peppers in a large Ziploc bag and let the peppers sweat for 15 minutes. Open the bag and let the peppers cool a bit. Using gloves remove the outer skin of the pepper and slice pepper in half. Remove the seeds and slice the peppers. Set aside.

Preparation

The following day, heat a large stove griddle on medium heat and place chicken breasts to cook for 10-12 minutes. Place bacon slices on the same griddle and cook until crispy. Slice chicken into semi-thin slices and crumble bacon into ½-inch pieces and set aside. Drain bacon and chicken drippings in a small bowl.

Add a little of the drippings on the griddle and cook the sliced onions on cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or until softened.

Crumble the Ranchero Queso Fresco and shred the Queso Quesadilla and set aside.

Assembly

Place 1-2 Tablespoons of the bacon drippings on a large non-stick pan. Heat on medium heat and place two to three corn tortillas on the skillet. On each tortilla, place 2-3 Tablespoons of both the Ranchero Queso Fresco and Queso Quesadilla. Add 1-2 Tablespoons of grilled onions and roasted poblano peppers, 3-4 strips of chicken, and 2 Tablespoons of crumbled bacon. Top each with 1 Tablespoon of both cheeses again and a corn tortilla.

Grill the quesadillas for 5-7 minutes on each side or until tortilla is slightly crispy. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas. Remove from pan and place on a cutting board and cut into 4 squares. Serve on a dish and top with avocado slices, crema fresca, and chopped cilantro. Serve with salsa verde.

4 quesadilla squares make a perfect appetizer and 8 makes a delicious meal. Serves 5 to 10 people.