Cilantro Lime Chicken Quesadilla

aka Make Yerself a Dang Quesadilla, Napolean!

(imagine the heavenly voices of cilantro angels singing in chorus)… ♪Ahhhhhhhh!♫

Our menu called for quesadillas tonight, but I wanted to change things up a little. I’m a pretty lazy with my quesadilla assembly: cheese, grilled chicken, cheese. Blah. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good…and cheesy (did I mention the cheese?), but…blah.

Anyway, I’ve been growing some herbs in my windowsill the last few weeks (you can see my basil and cilantro in the picture above!), and have been dying to do something with the cilantro. I just happened to have some limes on hand as well. And nothing pairs with cilantro better than lime. I can’t believe I actually had them BOTH at the SAME TIME! Now, you may call it luck. And you may call it fortune. But meself, I call it fortuosity…(I can hear an Irishman singing “"Fortuosity"” in my head now. You too? Uncanny!) *ahem*

So I grilled up a couple of chicken breasts seasoned with seasoned salt and then shredded them. Then I chopped up the cilantro really fine. I watched this video and this video on how to chop herbs and found them very instructive. (I can’t do it like the second guy, but it was fun to try anyhow.) I added a dash each of cumin and garlic powder. Then I squeezed half a lime over the chicken and gave it a quick toss. I layered the chicken with shredded mozzarella between two medium flour tortillas and voila! Quesadilla City, baby. Population: us.

As a means of self-gratulation, I would like to add that the “Picky Three” scarfed these down almost as fast as I could make them. The youngest, pickiest of the gang even ate his full share. That. Is. Amazing.

Next time, I think I’d like to add some black beans and red or green peppers, and this would be fantastic with Sarah’s guacamole.

Here’s the breakdown:

Cilantro Lime Chicken Quesadillas

(makes 5 quesadillas)

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
dash ground cumin
dash garlic powder
juice from half a lime
1 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella, divided
10 flour tortillas

In a small bowl, combine chicken, cilantro, cumin, and garlic powder. Add lime juice and toss. On a flour tortilla, layer chicken mixture with 1/4 cup cheese and top with a second tortilla. Place in quesadilla maker and cook 6 minutes or until slightly crispy. Serve with sour cream (we like to substitute plain yogurt), salsa, and guacamole.

I used a quesadilla maker, but you can also bake two quesadillas at once on a cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes at 400°.

Enjoy!