Chicken Quesadillas

While working as a (line cook) chef in a (dive) fine dining establishment, I made these Chicken Quesadillas on a daily basis, so these are restaurant quality goods. Quesadillas cook fast so the key is having all your ingredients in front of you and ready to go when you start. The 'busy kitchen unit of measurement' is one handful of each item, so adjust your needs accordingly.

To make ONE Chicken Quesadilla, you will need: 

Ingredients: 

• Two Large (10 inch) Flour Tortillas
• Cooked Boneless Chicken Breast - diced
• Green Bell Pepper - chopped
• Onion - chopped
• Tomato - diced (I used the canned kind)
• Shredded Cheddar cheese
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Grated Parmesian Cheese
• 1 tb Butter (appx)

For my own convenience, I mix my cheddar and mozzarella cheese together in a plastic bag but you don't have to do that. If you are making your Quesadillas in a pan, you'll need two pans going at the same time, set to medium high. If you're using a griddle, set to 400. Cluster your ingredients up next to your pan or griddle, and you're ready to go.

Lay down a full circular spot of butter for each tortilla and lay the tortilla on top of that. (I give it a quick rub around to make sure it's fully covered.) On the left tortilla, place a handful each of Cheddar and Mozzerella, spread as evenly as possible to the ends. On the right tortilla, cover evenly with a handful each of onion, pepper, tomato and chicken. (You can adjust your distribution to taste. It's your Quesadilla...make it however you like!) 

By the time you're done with all that distribution, the cheese side will probably look melted, like above. Slip a spatula underneath the cheese side and carefully flip it on top of the meat side. I use my fingertips to help line it up, but of course, it's very hot, so do that at your own risk.

Rub a little butter across the top of your Quesadilla and dust with the grated Parmesian cheese. Give it maybe another 20 seconds after that to really fuse together nice, and then using a spatula, slide it onto a plate. Cut your Quesadilla in 8ths and fan out for show. Serve with Salsa, Sour Cream, Guacamole or any fun topping of your choice.

The nice thing about Quesadillas is you can refrigerate left overs and eat them cold. They make absolutely delicious snacks.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

I have no memory of where or when I picked up this recipe, but it's scribbled on a piece of paper that's actually starting to yellow with age.

Ingredients: 

• 1-2 lbs cubed Stew Meat
• 1/4-1/2 cup flour
• 3 tb oil
• 3 tb Worcestershire sauce
• 1 can All Veggies
• 1 can sliced potatoes 
• 1 tb parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 ts salt
• 2 cups hot water
• 2 envelopes onion soup mix
• 3 tb butter
• 1 large onion
• 3 tb garlic
• 1/2 cup red wine 

Chop the onion up and saute it with the butter and garlic over med-high heat.

Cut the beef cubes into bit sized chunks (if they aren't already,) and then put them in a big plastic baggie and coat them with the flour.

Dump the onions and garlic into the slow cooker! Add some oil to the hot pan and brown the meat. Add the Worcestershire sauce during the browning. I add more than 3 tablespoons, myself, so feel free to go nuts according to taste. (Right about now, people will start showing up in your kitchen to ask what you are making...)

                                                              (Happily browning meat!)

When the meat is browned, dump it into the crock pot too. And now comes the easy part. Add to the crock pot the veggies, potatoes, parsley, pepper, salt, red wine, hot water and onion soup mix.

                                                     (Throw in a whole bunch of things!)

Mix everything in there together real well with a big ole' wooden spoon or plastic dollar store utensil. Cover.

Cook on HIGH for 1 hour and then LOW for 8 hours. And double check that your crock pot is plugged in. Because once I...um...forgot that part. :(

Serve your delicious stew with buttered bread. (I had a prettier picture of the stew but I accidentally deleted it, and the stew was almost gone by the time I went to make the blog, so you get this not quite as pretty left-over stew picture, but that just goes to show you how fast this stuff goes!)

Chicken Crescent Casserole

For something a little different, try this amazing casserole. It's fast, easy, and delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 can condensed cream of celery soup
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 onion - minced
• 2 tbs white cooking wine
• 1 can peas and carrots
• 3 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 2/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
• 2 tbs butter

 Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In an ungreased baking dish, combine chicken, onion, soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, wine, peas and carrots. Sprinkle with cheese. (If you don't want the onions to be crunchy, saute them first in a tablespoon of butter.) 

• Unroll crescent roll dough into rectangles; seal seams. Place over cheese. Melt the butter and pour over the top. (Dust with a little Parmesan if you like.) Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 8-10 servings. 

Pictures for your amusement:

                                   (I forgot the mayo in the background there! Sorry, Mayo!)

Easy Enchiladas!

I had no idea what I was doing the first time I made these, but it didn't matter. They were super easy and came out perfectly edible. This recipe makes six enchiladas.

Ingredients: 

• Two boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed. 
• 1 Onion chopped
• 1 can Cream of Chicken soup
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream
• 1 small can of diced green chiles or three chiles chopped.
• 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1 pack large flour Tortillas  
• 1 can Enchilada Sauce
• Chili pepper 
• 1 tbl margarine

Directions:

         Preheat oven to 350. Melt margarine in pan over medium heat. Add 1 chopped onion, 1 can green chiles and 1 teaspoon chili powder. (You can also add Cilantro and/or Cumin to taste.) Saute a couple of minutes. Some people mix the soup and sour cream in a bowl first, but I dump both straight into the pan and mix it up in there. Add the chopped-up cooked chicken. Put all six of your tortillas in the microwave together for one minute. Spread the mixture on the center of the tortilla. Roll up and place it seam side down in a baking dish. Cover the enchiladas with the can of sauce and top with 1 cup of shredded Cheddar. Bake for 25 minutes.

This is all a lot easier than it sounds. :P

Pictures for your entertainment:

Mmmm...Enchiladas! And now...it's time to eat them! :)