Saturday, June 7, 2014

Quesadillas on the Grill

by Peg Cochran


Finally grilling season is here to stay in West Michigan.  We seem to have gone from ten foot piles of snow to summer in the space of a couple of days.  Spring was SHORT this year!

I was looking for something different to grill when I came up with the idea of quesadillas for dinner.  I checked some recipes and then decided to combine a couple of them to create my own variation.  Some were way too detailed for the mood I was in (late Sunday afternoon) and some didn’t have any meat in them, and I wanted these to be a main course not a snack.

I treated myself to a jar of Adobo Seasoning—something new for me.   It added a nice flavor to the chicken although I used it sparingly since the first ingredient listed is salt. 

This recipe is adaptable to your needs.  I grilled two chicken breasts (check out those grill marks!) and ended up using only one for two people and saving the other for lunches.

Sprinkle the chicken with Adobo seasoning and grill until your thermometer reads at least 165 degrees.

While the chicken is grilling, place a pepper of your choice (red, green, yellow, orange) on the grill.  Keep turning it until the skin blisters and blackens.  Remove from the grill and place in a plastic bag and allow it to steam until cool enough to handle.  Remove the charred skin and cut the pepper into thin strips. 

Cut grilled chicken into strips approximately the same size as the pepper strips.

Grate a good handful of cheese—I chose Monterey Jack, but you could use the cheese of your choice.  

 Place one tortilla on the grill and quickly arrange chicken and pepper on top and sprinkle with cheese.  Place another tortilla on top and press down with a spatula.  When the bottom tortilla is golden, flip them to grill the top tortilla.  (Next time I think I will put the fillings on half the tortilla and fold it in half to grill—easier to turn.) 

When the other side is golden, remove from grill.  Serve with toppings of your choice:  salsa, avocado, sour cream, salsa verde.  I like to put my toppings on top because, well, they are called “toppings.”  My husband likes to open the quesadilla and put his inside.  Kind of a you say tomato and I say “tom-ah-to” kind of thing.  

I served the quesadillas with a black bean salad.  No recipe, I just mixed a can of rinsed black beans, about a cup of corn, a half an avocado cut into small pieces and then tossed it with a lime/olive oil/cilantro dressing.  Perfect!



Trying a new seasoning.  Sprinkle on the chicken before grilling

Grill pepper until charred, steam in plastic bag and then remove skin




Black bean, corn and avocado salad makes a great side dish












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I have a new series coming in August 2015--the Cranberry Cove series.  I'm really excited about it and can't wait for you to become a part of Cranberry Cove!


Visit my website or join me on Facebook!  I'm also on Twitter @pegcochran











14 comments:

  1. What a great idea, Peg! I'm always looking for different ways to do chicken, esp. now that it's in the 90's in Texas, and this would be perfect on the grill. Thanks! Looking forward to the Cranberry Cove series.

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    1. My sister lives in Houston and she said it's HOT! It's great if you don't have to heat up the kitchen for dinner.

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  2. You can also do these open faced as a sort of mini mexican pizza. Just put a layer of cheese on the tortilla, let everyone add their own toppings, I recommend pieces of fresh tomato rather than sauce on these, place on the grill to melt the cheese.

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    1. I'm going to try that next time! That would be fun for a party as an appetizer.

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  3. I love simple recipes.

    Dru Ann

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  4. Adobo seasoning is awesome!!! I've been using it for years. My "source" closed and I found it on Amazon at a good price. I put it on everything, from meats to vegis!!!! It resides right next to the pepper mill!!!!

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    1. I can't believe I hadn't tried Adobo before now! It's great. Fortunately our supermarket has a good "ethnic" section.

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  5. This is a great idea!!!!! I have family visiting us at the moment and everyone eats something different.....this would be a fun way to satisfy all of them!! Grilling always makes food taste better.

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    1. Grilling also feels more like "fun" than cooking does!

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  6. Sounds delicious, Peg! And grilling doesn't feel like cooking, does it? The fresh air, I guess. Congratulations on your new series. I love cranberries (and they're so good for us) so I'm eager to see some recipes!

    ~Krista

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  7. Peg - What a great idea for summer grilling season. Getting that wonderful smoky flavor into such a classic and easy dinner is brilliant, brava! Thanks for sharing, congrats on the new series (very exciting)! May you have a delicious week. ~ Cleo

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  8. Lovely post, Peg! Can't wait to steal your ideas! Congrats on the new series. When do you sleep?

    XO

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    1. Ha, ha, MJ. Actually I get plenty of sleep, it's television that I've given up. Except Downton Abbey but then there are only like four episodes to a season!

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