Chicken Quesadilla Recipe

I found a new recipe recently that I'm totally crazy about. It comes courtesy of a good friend of mine, Jenn who adapted it from The Best of Bridge, "Best of the Best! Thanks for sharing, Jenn. She drove over an hour in the wind and COLD for my birthday to make it for my birthday lunch and it was the best thing I've tasted in a while! I have not kept quiet about how much I like it and as a result have had a few requests for the recipe. So, after the O-K from Munch here it is. Enjoy!


Recipe for 2 quesadillas:

1 red pepper
1 jalapeno pepper (optional); if you can find jalapeno jack cheese then you can leave this out unless you like it with extra kick
1 large chicken breast, dredged in a mixture of equal amounts cumin and chili powder and a bit of salt and pepper - use quite a bit of the chili powder/cumin mixture; enough to completely cover the chicken (keeps juices inside when cooking)
1 cup Grated jalapeno jack cheese
1 cup Diced papaya (you can also use mango if can't find papaya)
Spinach (optional)
2 whole wheat tortilla shells

1) Wash the bell pepper (and jalapeno pepper, if using) and slice in half. Remove the top of the peppers. Place the pepper halves, with the 'insides' facing down, on a baking sheet (so skins are facing up). Broil the peppers under your oven's broiler, until skin is really black. Put the peppers in a container (glass or ceramic preferable) with lid and let rest for about 5 minutes. Open lid and the black 'skin' should now just peel right off the peppers (if not wasn't quite black enough when you removed from the oven - leave it in longer next time). Toss the black 'skin' in the garbage. Cut the remaining roasted bell pepper into strips. If using jalapeno likewise remove the black skin and then dice into little bits. Wash your hands immediately after dicing jalapeno pepper.

2) Meanwhile, while the peppers are in the broiler and then resting.....season the chicken with spices and salt/pepper. Put a little bit of olive oil in a saute pan, let heat. Place chicken in hot pan and cover with lid. Saute on both sides until done. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes. Once rested, slice chicken (if cut too soon you'll lose all the juices).

3) Over medium heat, in a large saute pan, place one tortilla shell. On half of the shell place half of the cheese, and then half of the bell pepper strips (and half of the diced jalapeno), half of the sliced chicken, and half of the diced papaya (also add a handful of spinach if including). Let cook until cheese melts and bottom of tortilla starts to go nice and brown. Then fold in half (to cover the goodies inside). Remove from heat and slice in half - you have two big wedges. Place in warmed oven while cook second quesadilla. Serve quesadillas with sour cream and salsa, and a little salad for dinner.

Be sure and check out the video of Maya crawling (below) if you haven't already done so!