Tag: How to make a Quesadilla

Quesadilla with Grilled Chicken and Jack Cheese

The Best Chicken Quesadilla

This Chicken Jack Quesadilla makes all the difference between what you’d get served at your favorite fast food joint or a dine in restaurant.  Whether you choose to use an extra large burrito sized flour tortilla, like I do, or a small to medium, these quesadilla’s are packed with flavor.  I use marinated grilled chicken, Monterrey and Colby Jack Cheese and, of course, my secret sauce; made from the Fire Roasted Salsa that I showed you how to make, last post.  I’m talking about a thick creamy quesadilla that any good restaurant would dream of having on the menu.


Quesadilla Grilled Chicken

It’s very important to make the chicken as tender and as flavorful as possible, when making a restaurant style quesadilla.  You can make it lean, if you want to, by using breast meat, if you prefer, but I highly recommend using chicken thighs, instead.  In my experience, it makes tastier quesadilla’s.  Just chicken thighs isn’t going to be enough, however.  Adding a spicy marinade will take it to the next level, infuse the meat with flavor and insure tenderness.  30 minutes of soaking is all it’s going to take before you take it to the grill.  Then an additional 20 minutes of cooking will add the smokey taste everyone loves from great barbecue.  Just be sure the meat is cooked all of the way through and hits a core temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Quesadilla Secret Sauce

The difference between a fast food quesadilla and a restaurant style quesadilla is huge.  Fast food quesadillas just consist of cheese, meat (if you’re lucky),possibly some onions and/or green chili’s.  There usually isn’t much bulk and generally made thin and small.  A good restaurant, however, will serve up a large to extra large sized tortilla, packed with more ingredients than it can usually hold; grilled marinated chicken, 2 cheese’s and a secret sauce that makes it extra creamy when the cheese melts into it.  My secret sauce consists of 3 ingredients: Sour Cream, Mayonnaise and my Fire Roasted Salsa.

Quesadilla Cheese

The cheese you choose will completely change the flavor of your Quesadilla and there are several winners.  Cheddar, medium or sharp, and Jack Cheese are generally among my favorites.  Queso asadero is the original cheese used to make Quesadillas but these are great alternatives.  In this recipe, I like to use Monterey and Colby Jack Cheese together because it’s very crowd pleasing and not to spicy for my kids.  If I’m making them for my wife and I, I’ll change out the Monterey and use Pepper Jack, instead, for a little kick.  Some folks even spread cream cheese inside the tortilla but you use what you like.

Chicken Jack Quesadilla Ingredients:

6 Boneless Chicken Thighs
1 pkg Extra Large Tortilla’s
1 lbs Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
1 lbs Colby Jack Cheese, grated
1 Cube Butter, salted

Chicken Marinade
1/2 cup Water
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Tumeric
1 tsp Mexican Oregano
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Fish Sauce
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Secret Sauce
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Fire Roasted Salsa

Follow the instructions in the video recipe to make this Chicken Jack Quesadilla.

How to make a Quesadilla

QuesadillaIs a Quesadilla Cheesy?

As a child, growing up we always had this fascination snack that my siblings and I could make thanks to the technology of the microwave.  We called it a Cheese Crisp; which just consisted of a flour tortilla and cheese; maybe you know it.  Technically it was suppose to be done in the oven, hence the words, Cheese “Crisp”, but at 8 years old, that was way above my pay grade, so the microwave worked just fine.  It wasn’t until years later that I heard of the Quesadilla and I remember thinking, “What’s the big deal?  It’s just a Cheese Crisp folded in half.”  But, the Quesadilla is on more menus and just about everybody knows about them and I still make both to this day.  So let’s go ahead and dig into making one of these cheesy recipes.

First things first, you’ll need some flour tortillas and cheese.  Now traditionally we always used cheddar cheese, and you can use either mild or sharp, just pick your favorite.  However, if you want to step into my gym, I would recommend you grabbing some Pepper Jack Cheese.  That’s my favorite.  Now the beautiful thing about making a true Quesadilla is, much like a Frittata, you can put anything you want inside.  Onions, peppers, Chicken and beef are just a few common practices amongst kitchens.  You decide how much flavor you want to squeeze from your Quesadilla.   Ultimately how hungry you are and how much effort you want to put into it will also be a factor.  I would however recommend that if you put in any of the above items I mentioned that you take the time to sauté the veggies and grill the chicken or steak.  That will intensify the power and flavor of your Quesadilla to the point you may feel you want to die and go to heaven.

A Quesadilla Ingredients:

1 flour tortilla
1/2 cup Cheese (Cheddar or Pepper Jack)
2 tbs green chilis

For this recipe I keep it simple.  The ingredients are tortillas, chilis and cheese.  So if these are the only items in your refrigerator, that’s all you really need.  Just fill one side of your tortilla with your favorite cheese, then scatter some chili’s over the top, fold and sear in a hot pan over medium for half a minute on each side, or until you reach your desired color.  The most important thing is that the cheese melts.  That’s it and that’s all.  In no time you’ll be enjoying one of my family’s favorite snacks, a Quesadilla!