Tag Archives: Mexican Lasagna

Two EASY Quesadillas: Goat cheese and grilled peppers; Chicken and Bacon. The choice is yours

Leave a reply

I get on kicks. My latest is quesadillas.

A month ago, I made a wonderful black bean, Ranch, rotisserie chicken quesadilla, then a Mediterranean inspired quesadilla and I have several more in the works.

L1060906 (2)

The charm of the quesadilla is it’s quick, easy, versatile and delicious.

It’s portable so you can eat it on the go as a snack, but also filling enough to enjoy it for dinner.

If you’re watching your carb intake, you can substitute a high protein, low carb wrap for the tortilla shell.

A classic quesadilla is common street fare all over in Mexico. You can fill it with any variety of cheeses, meats, vegetables and use corn, black corn, white or wheat flour tortillas.  There are tremendous possibilities.

It’s a great way to use leftover barbecue meats, too. I nestle shredded barbecue pork in a tortilla, top it with cheese, cilantro, chopped red onion, and grill it. Then I serve it with barbecue sauce and sour cream. It’s delightful.

And you don’t have to know much about cooking to create a delicious quesadilla.

My biggest tip is when making a quesadilla that is stuffed with other ingredients, cook it cheese side down first so it has a chance to melt and the cheese doesn’t fall out when you flip it.

Use a nonstick pan or a skillet to make quesadillas. If you’re feeding a crowd, a pancake griddle works beautifully to cook several at the same time (if you have a family, a griddle is a great choice).

Here are two AMAZING and easy recipes:

The goat cheese quesadilla is tossed with green salsa and cuddles up to bell peppers and chicken. It’s L1070005 (2) one of my favorites as the creamy, tangy goat cheese contrast beautifully with a trio of bell peppers. Goat cheese is also less fattening and I like the fact that my recipe includes veggies. This is a single serving recipe, so perfect for a snack or someone who lives solo.

My bacon and chicken is about as easy as it gets and takes less than 10 minutes from start to finish. This is basic qubaconqesadilla with rotisserie chicken, bacon pieces, cheese and a dash of cumin. I grill it and serve it with salsa and guacamole.

I hope you enjoy these.

Goat Cheese, Chicken and Tri-Pepper Quesadilla

Serves 1

1 medium size tortilla

Cooking spray

1/3 cup of assorted sliced bell peppers, red, green and yellow or orange

¼ cup of soft goat cheese

1 1/2 tablespoons green salsa

Dash of ground cumin

1/3 cup sliced or chopped rotisserie chicken breast

Guacamole or green salsa for serving

First, slice assorted bell peppers and heat a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. When hot, add the bell peppers and cook 3-5 minutes until they reach desired tenderness. Salt the peppers and remove from heat.

In a bowl, stir together the goat cheese and green salsa until combined. Then spread the mixture over half of a tortilla. Top with chicken and bell peppers. Then sprinkle a dash of ground cumin on the other side of the tortilla and fold over to make a half moon.

Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat it over medium heat. Add the folded tortilla and cook about 2-3 minutes per side, until slightly crisp. Slice and serve with green salsa or guacamole.

goat cheese quesadilla

Chicken and Bacon Quesadilla

Makes 2 snacks or 1 meal size

2 medium size flour tortillas

1 chicken breast

½ cup shredded Mexican style cheese

2 heaping teaspoons real bacon pieces

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin or cumin seed

Cooking spray

Guacamole for serving

Salsa for serving

Cilantro to garnish

Cut the chicken breast off the rotisserie chicken, discard and skin and slice the breast. Then divide those pieces in half.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat.

Place half the cheese on half of each tortilla. Top with chicken, bacon and cumin. Fold the other half of the tortilla over to make a half moon. Then place in skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes per side.

Serve with salsa and guacamole.

L1060984 (2)

Mexican Lasagna

Leave a reply

Mexican Lasagna

1 package soft yellow corn tortillas (you will not use them all)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 very large yellow onion

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons cumin seed

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 can seasoned black beans, drained

4 cups chopped skinless rotisserie chicken (1 whole chicken or 2 if just use breast meat)

2 ¾ cups chunky salsa or picante sauce (that’s more than a regular size jar, so buy a big jar or two regular ones)

Dash of garlic salt

½ cup cilantro (optional)

3 1/2- 4 cups of shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack cheese blend (or Mexican- cheese blend)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Note: This calls for 4 cups of rotisserie chicken, which is the whole chicken. If you don’t like dark meat and want only white, you will need to buy two chickens and just use the breast off both.

This makes a large batch (13” x 9” pan), but the recipe can easily be halved. This is an economical dish when entertaining and absolutely delicious. This lasagna explodes with flavor.

Helpful hint: If you’re watching your weight, you can use less cheese in this dish by skipping the middle layer of cheese.  This has such powerful flavors, you really won’t miss it too much (and if you don’t try it that way, you won’t even know what you’re missing).

Directions:

Put onion through a food processor and chop bell peppers and set aside.

If you plan to use cilantro, gather the leaves in a bunch and cut off stems at the base of where the leaves start. Chop the leaves and set aside.

Chop your chicken and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onion, cumin powder and cumin seed and cook 6 minutes.  Then add chopped bell peppers and cook 2 minutes. Stir in beans, chicken, salsa, dash of garlic salt and cook 2 minutes.  If you plan to add cilantro, stir it in now. Turn off heat and let mixture rest.

Spray a 13” x 9″ pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with corn tortillas, overlapping in spots so that the bottom is covered. I tear tortillas into desired sizes to make them fit. You will not use the entire package, you just want enough to make layers.

Take half your chicken mixture and spread it evenly over the first layer of tortillas.  Top that mixture with about 40 percent of your cheese. You want a little extra cheese on top. Then repeat and make another layer or tortillas over the mixture. Make sure it’s all covered, even if you overlap tortillas. Then top that with the rest of the chicken mixture. Cover chicken with remaining cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Slice and serve. I hope you enjoy this; I absolutely love it.