Grilled Chicken Quesadillas

The weather here for the past week or so has been unseasonably warm. Because the weather has been so nice, we decided to break out the grill. Grilling in November... no complaints here! The cold and snow can stay away for as long as it wants. As far as I'm concerned, I want snow for Christmas and that's about it.

Anyway, back to the recipe. It's been a couple months since I found this recipe here on blogchef.com. I've made several recipes off this site, and every single one of them has been great. We have a great chicken teriyaki recipe that we have made off this site as well.

I made a few changes to the recipe. Mostly for simplicity. The recipe calls to puree chopped green chiles with sour cream to make a sauce. Given the other ingredients, I saw no reason why the green chiles needed to be pureed, so I just mixed them together with the sour cream right out of the can. Even theough the recipe is not bad on its own (lots of veggies and chicken) my other changes were mostly things to make the reicpe a little healthier - whole-wheat tortillas, light sour cream, spray butter for the tortillas, and less olive oil.

Overall, we both really enjoyed this recipe. If the weather holds out, try them (or if you are like us you grill when it is -30 degrees F anyway). Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Grilled Chicken Quesadillas - Adapted from blogchef.com

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 tomatoes, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 onion, sliced thinly
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 (9-inch) whole-wheat tortillas
1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 c. sour cream
1 can chopped green chilies
spray butter

Boil chicken breasts on the stove top until cooked through. Cool for a few minutes. Shred and set aside. Can grill chicken breasts if desired.

Combine diced tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, and lime juice. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Set aside. Mix sour cream and chopped green chiles in a small bowl. Can puree in a blender until smooth if desired. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute onion and bell pepper until tender. Stir in garlic and cook until aroma flows. Mix in the cooked chicken and half of the pico de gallo mixture. Remove from heat, set aside and keep warm.

Lightly oil grill grates and preheat the grill. Spray one side of each tortilla with spray butter. Lay out tortillas butter side down on the grill. Top each tortilla with desired amount of cheese and 1/4 c. chicken mixture on one half of each tortilla. Top with a little sour cream sauce. When the bottom of the tortillas are lightly browned and the cheese has started to melt, with a spatula, fold one side of the tortilla over the top and press down. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flipping once, until grill marks are prominent and cheese is completely melted. May cut into wedges if desired.