May — it’s a month worthy of celebration. Named for the Greek goddess of plant growth — Maia — May brings warmer temperatures, more daylight, springtime flowers and culminates with Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer. These Mexican recipes from Dara Bunjon, host of Jmore’s The Food Enthusiast, are the perfect way to usher in the month of May.
Chicken Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil: vegetable or canola
- 3 cups sliced raw mushrooms
- 1 large onion, halved and cut into thin half-moon slices
- 2/3 cup jarred roasted red peppers, sliced into thin strips
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 3/4 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 8 8-inch soft flour tortillas
- 3 cups pre-packaged shredded Mexican or taco cheese blend
- 4 cups cubed cooked chicken
Instructions
- Heat oil in a 12-inch pan over medium heat.
- Add mushrooms, sliced onion, roasted red pepper, salt, oregano, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and ground black pepper.
- Cook until the onions are translucent and soft. Then remove pan from the heat.
Assembling The Quesadillas
- Pre-heat the oven to the lowest temperature.
- Heat a 12-inch non-stick pan on medium-low heat.
- Add a tortilla.
- On half the tortilla spread 3 tablespoons of the cheese, then 1/2 cup of chicken, 1/8 of your cooked seasoned vegetable and top with 2 tablespoons of cheese.
- Turn the uncovered half of the tortilla on top of the mixture so it looks like a half-moon and with a spatula press down to even the ingredients.
- When the cheese on the bottom starts to melt, flip the quesadilla on its other side, pressing down on top with the spatula and let it cook for a minute.
- To keep the quesadillas warm, put them on a sheet pan in the warm oven.
- Alternatively, if you have a griddle, you can cook more than one at a time. You can pre-assemble all the quesadillas ahead of time but I do one at a time and put them on the sheet pan in the oven to keep them warm.
- Slice the quesadillas in half wedges.
Notes
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