If you had one type of food that you had to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be? Mine would be Mexican food. I can’t get enough of tacos, quesadillas, taquitos, burritos. You name a Mexican dish and I assure you, I’d be happy to eat it. And these Grilled Chicken Fajita Quesadillas will be at the top of that list!
I love chatting with people and finding out what they like/dislike and what makes them tick. In my previous life (before my son was born), I worked in Human Resources. It’s funny, because when I tell people that, they all laugh and say “I totally see that!” I really love to engage with people. Meeting friends for coffee or to walk the loop around the lake is perfect fellowship for me.
Preparing the Grilled Chicken Fajita Quesadilla
We have an amazing Mexican restaurant near our home that serves the most yummy fajita quesadillas. Unfortunately, those are not cheap – but I am. So I challenged myself to make my own so I would quit dreaming of theirs. I had Spence ready to do the taste test! They passed with flying colors!! Spencer bit into these and said that ours beat the restaurant ones hands down!!! Awww, melt mom’s heart right there!
Using the Meal Prep Chicken
Have you seen the uber-expensive “already grilled for you grilled chicken” at the grocery store? The expense hits me hard. Imagine all of the additives they must include to keep them fresh. I have written about grilling chicken breasts for meal prep before and if you didn’t see the article, here it is again! I used chicken that we previously grilled to pull this meal together later in the week.
On a side note, this chicken freezes beautifully, as well. If I grill it on Sunday and my meal plans have it being used later than Wednesday, I will freeze them until the day before. They come out tasting just like they came off the grill!
Making the Grilled Chicken Fajita Quesadilla
These quesadillas come together so quick that you are going to want to add them into your regular menu rotation! The heavier workload came from the grilled chicken prepared ealrier in the week!
Preheat your skillet to medium high and add the olive oil. While the pan heats up, slice the peppers and onions and then add them to the heated skillet. Arrange them and then leave them alone for 6-7 minutes. This will allow them to get that beautiful caramelized brown color and flavor that we want. If you move them too early, you won’t get that.
While the onions and peppers are cooking, slice or cube up the grilled chicken. This is a great recipe to make your meat stretch as far as you need it too! If you only have one chicken breast left, just shred it to make the meat stretch further.
Once the peppers and onions are almost finished, add the chicken and the quesadilla seasoning mix (see recipe in recipe box below) to the pan. Mix this together to bring all those flavors together and then remove it from the pan. Wipe out the pan.
In the cleaned-out pan, add 1 tbsp of butter. Let it melt and then add one flour tortilla. Add one half of a cup of the onions/peppers/chicken/seasoning mix. Sprinkle on ¼ cup of cheese and add another flour tortilla on top.
I place a flat lid on top of my quesadilla to press it while it cooks. Since your pan is already hot, this should only take about two minutes. When the bottom of the tortilla is browned, carefully flip it over and brown the other side. That should take about two minutes as well.
Once you remove it from the pan, place on cutting board and serve with sour cream and guacamole.
Ingredients
- 2 grilled chicken breasts sliced
- 1 red pepper sliced
- 1 onion sliced
- 1-3 tbs of quesadilla seasoning recipe below
- 1 cup of shredded cheese quesadilla or taco mix works great
- 1 tbs butter
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 4 flour tortilla shells
- Quesadilla Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Heat cast iron pan on a medium high heat. Add olive oil when hot. Add onions and red pepper and saute for about 5-7 minutes until caramelized.
- Add chicken and heat through. Mix taco seasoning with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water. Just enough to cover the veggies and chicken. Add to pan and heat through. The water will evaporate quickly.
- Remove all food from pan and wipe out with a paper towel.
- Add butter to pan over medium high heat. Place tortilla in cast iron pan and layer chicken, onion and peppers and cheese to only one side and fold over. Heat through and allow bottom of the tortilla to brown. Flip over with a large spatula and cook 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat and slice up. Serve with sour cream and guacamole.
- Quesadilla Seasoning
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir. Use 1-3 tablespoons with 1/4-1/2 cup of water and combine to use above.
Nutrition
