Layered Quesadilla

Three or so weeks ago when I was feeling healthy, we invited another couple over for dinner and they brought a recipe with them for some Foodiddy cookin’.

My girlfriend and I immediately got to work in the kitchen.

Guy Fieri made a “Coyote Quesadilla” on the En Fuego Fiesta episode of his show –  Guy’s Big Bite. – Michelle had tried the recipe before and was amazed that 1 quesadilla fed her family of 4 – not too shabby.

The recipe comes in 4 steps. First you have to make the blackening rub for the chicken. Next up is a wonderful black bean salsa, a chipotle ranch dressing and then the quesadilla creation.

Blackening Spice Rub Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic
1 Tablespoon Ground Pepper
2 Teaspoons Onion Powder
2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin
1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Teaspoon Paprika
1/2 Tablespoon Salt

Combine all above ingredients in an airtight container – this makes enough to use for probably 4-6 pieces of chicken.

Sidenote: I’m second guessing my purchase of this Pier 1 Imports plate. I think I overpaid for a glorified paper plate, hah! Seriously, it’s a beautiful ceramic plate, but it looks like paper in my photos – might as well just use paper, faster clean-up!

O.k. – back to the recipe. Next up, the black bean salsa.

Black Bean Salsa Ingredients:

15 Ounce Can of Black Beans – Rinsed and Drained – We used low sodium
15 Ounce Can of Low Sodium Corn – Drained
1 Roma Tomato – Seeded, small dice – We used 2 tomatoes
2 Tablespoons peeled and finely diced carrots – Used 2 small carrots
2 Tablespoons finely diced red onion – Used probably double or triple that
2 Tablespoons finely chopped green onion – Used 4 green onions
2 Tablespoons finely diced red bell pepper – Used 1/2 bell pepper
1 Tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves – Grabbed a handful
1 Teaspoon lime zest – Didn’t measure
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 Teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 Teaspoon sea salt
1/2 Teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Gently mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes or more.

Super colorful ingredients…

Mixed and ready for chillin’ in the fridge.

Next Step – Chipotle Ranch Dressing/Sauce

1/2 Cup Ranch Dressing – We used a packet and made our own – Michelle said it made a big difference compared to using store bought the first time.
1/4 Cup Sour Cream – used more like a 1/2 cup
2 Tablespoons Chipotle Peppers

Process all ingredients in a blender. We loaded the sauce into a squeeze bottle and stuck it in the fridge.

Finally – time to grill the chicken. The original recipe used an iron skillet with oil – the grill was a nice substitute – no oil needed.  We set it on a really high heat and let the seasoning get nice and black.

We cut the chicken into pretty chunky pieces and began the construction of our three-layered masterpiece.

We also used the BBQ to grill our 3 flour tortillas. Just stuck them on the grill straight out of the package – no prep necessary.

Quesadilla Ingredients:

1 6 oz. Chicken Breast – We used two.
1 Tablespoon Blackening Spice – We just coated and didn’t measure.
6 oz. Refried Beans – We used spicy jalapeño.
3/4 Cup Shredded Mozzarella – No joke, we probably used triple that. I’m now seeing why Michelle’s fed her entire family, hah!
3/4 Cup Shredded Pepper Jack – We used 1/2 the small block
2 Tablespoons Chopped Green Onion
1 Roma Tomato – Diced
3 Large Flour Tortillas
Black Bean Salsa
Chipotle Ranch Dressing

Let the layer building begin.

Layer order on the tortillas – Beans, Cheese, Chicken, Green Onions – next tortilla and repeat the process. After the third tortilla goes on – finish with tomato, cilantro and more cheese – then place into a 425 degree oven for 5 minutes – it took ours about 15 – probably due to the amount of cheese.

Remove from oven, let cool for about 5 minutes and then cut into 4 pieces and serve with the black bean salsa and chipotle ranch dressing.

This was freakin’ amazing! I loved it. Seems like a lot of work, but with someone else in the kitchen, we were able to work at our little stations. I had black bean salsa and chipotle ranch for the rest of the week – perfect for salads!

I give this recipe two thumbs up and will definitely be making it again. Thanks for all of the well wishes – I am feeling better and I hope to resume normal cooking and eating next week. Woohoo!