When we begin a new week we at the very least can look forward to taco Tuesday. Who doesn’t love tacos or an entire day dedicated to said tacos? Exactly. But what if we can extend taco Tuesday leftovers into quesadilla Wednesday or Thursday? (Although any day is quesadilla day.) I know it doesn’t have the same ring to it, but I promise it’s equally as delicious. You will still get all the same delicious ingredients as your tacos but on a larger and cheesier scale. Sounds like a winning situation, right? (Oh, and let’s be clear about what authentic tacos consist of: corn tortilla, marinated protein, grilled onions and cilantro. Anything other than these ingredients is a fraud. *Ahem* back to the program) The next taco Tuesday, buy extra ingredients to make an authentic chicken and grilled onion quesadilla for he family. They will thank you and it works for any evening of the week.
Backstory:
I actually created this recipe as a copy cat from our favorite local Mexican restaurant. My husband and I order the standard authentic Mexican tacos or quesadilla almost weekly. One evening when ordering my quesadilla I wondered what combining the taco ingredients and quesadilla would taste like. That was the moment the chicken and grilled onion quesadilla recipe was created. I can’t get enough of this quesadilla to this day. Naturally, being someone who loves to cook, I decided to teach myself how to make my own version here at home. It didn’t take long for me to perfect the recipe. The hardest part was honestly getting the chicken flavors correct. If I was going to re-create this recipe it had to be equally as good. After a few weeks of trying and measuring here is the flavorful but easy recipe!
Chicken & Grilled Onion Quesadilla
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs Boneless Chicken Thighs
- 16 oz. Mexican Quesadilla Cheese
- 8 large Flour Tortillas
- 1/2 cup Diced Red Onion
- 1/3 cup Chopped Cilantro
- 1 Tbsp Lime Juice
- 1 Tbsp Adobo Seasoning
- 1 packet Sazon Goya Seasoning
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- Fresh Black Pepper *to taste
- Salt *to taste/optional*
Instructions
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Clean your chicken thighs, drain any excess water, and place in a mixing bowl. Add the lime juice, adobo seasoning, Goya packet, black pepper, salt, onion powder and garlic powder to the chicken. Mix them well and let marinate for an hour.
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Dice you onion and cilantro then put to the side. (If you didn’t purchase the already shredded Mexican cheese you can shred the cheese and put to the side
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Once the chicken has marinated, on a high heat, add your olive oil to the pan. (I recommend a cast iron skillet for the best char/taste). When the pan is really hot, sear no more than 2-3 chicken thighs on each side for 5-8 minutes per side or until completely cooked through. You don’t want to overcrowd the pan or it won’t be hot enough to sear.
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Place your finished chicken thighs on a cutting board to rest. Using the same pan from the chicken, add your diced onions, stir frequently until translucent but be careful not to burn them. (You don’t have to clean the pan after the chicken because that’s flavor!)
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In a clean pan, place one of your tortillas in the pan on medium low heat. Let it slightly toast for a minute or two.
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While the tortilla toasts cut your chicken thighs into 1 inch pieces. Flip your tortilla in the pan, add a handful of cheese, 1/4 of your chicken pieces, grilled onion and cilantro on top of the tortilla.
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Once the other side of the tortilla has toasted add your second tortilla to the pan to toast. Once it has toasted place the toasted side on top of your first tortilla with the ingredients and flip to toast the last side of the second tortilla.
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Toast until the cheese inside has melted to your desired consistency. Set to the side and let it rest for a minute or two.
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Cut into four pieces and enjoy!
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