Pico de Gallo Chicken Quesadillas

SUBMITTED BY: Tony Cortez PHOTO BY: Allrecipes

"Flour tortillas filled with chicken breast, onions, peppers, pico de gallo and Monterey Jack cheese."

PREP TIME	25 Min
COOK TIME	30 Min
READY IN	55 Min

SERVINGS & SCALING

Original recipe yield: 4 servings

USMETRIC

About scaling and conversions

INGREDIENTS

2 tomatoes, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 (12 inch) flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup sour cream, for topping

READ REVIEWS (377)

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, lime juice, cilantro, jalapeno, salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add chicken and saute until cooked through and juices run clear. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
Put the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the hot skillet and saute the sliced onion and green pepper until tender. Stir in the minced garlic and saute until the aroma is strong. Mix in half of the pico de gallo and chicken breast meat. Set aside; keep warm.
In a heavy skillet, heat one flour tortilla. Spread 1/4 cup shredded cheese on the tortilla and top with 1/2 the chicken mixture. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup cheese over the chicken and top with another tortilla. When bottom tortilla is lightly brown and cheese has started to melt, flip quesadilla and cook on the opposite side. Remove quesadilla from skillet and cut into quarters. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve quesadillas with sour cream and remaining pico de gallo.

Wine Tip

Try with a California Sauvignon Blanc .

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REVIEWS

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Reviewed on Jan. 5, 2004 by Gordon

Senor Cortez--This is the best, by far, recipe I have ever tasted for Pico de Gallo. Combining it in a chicken quesadilla was a work of genius, or family background. Using fresh cilantro is imperitive to the overall good taste, as are fresh ripened tomatoes. I followed your recipe to a T, but did prepare the pico de gallo about 3 hours prior to cooking to let the flavors completely meld. I also did mine in the oven, lightly coating the lower tortilla with canola oil, then adding the cheese and ingredients, and coating the top tortilla lightly with oil, and baked in a 375 degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. Again, mucho gracios for this delicious recipe. I will quadruple the recipe the next time in order to feed a few friends. GordonGoodGuy, and Chef Extrordinaire.

26 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Jan. 5, 2004 by KAREN WANG

You CAN go back home again! I'm from Texas and sorely missed Tex-Mex food. This recipe is perfect and outperforms most restaurants easily. The pico de gallo stands alone and can be made as dip for tortilla chips..outstanding! I would recommend NOT boiling/stewing the chicken as another reviewer suggests, because so much of the flavor comes from the chicken pan drippings created by cooking it in the olive oil. It provides that essential grilled-type taste like fajitas. Also, DO use the plate and slide method another reviewer suggests...absolutely no problems with turning them over or messiness. One final tip: don't load up the centermost part of the quesadilla because when you cut it like a pie to eat, the tip is overweighted and makes for a messy meal with filling falling out too easily. Muchas gracias, Senor Cortez. Era lo mejor!

23 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Jan. 5, 2004 by HAUNF

Tony! This is an awesome recipe! Thanks! For anyone thinking of making this, here's a few suggestions: 1) Don't skip making the pico de gallo. . . that's what makes this recipe so good. The flavor is wonderful! 2) Reading through the reviews, it appears some of you are having problems flipping the 12" tortilla. Here's a quick and easy way to flip it. When the tortilla is ready to flip, take a dinner plate and lay it upside down in the pan on top of the tortilla. Put your hand on top of the plate and flip the entire pan over so that the plate and tortilla are now in your hand. Now, simply slide the tortilla back into the pan and "voila" your flipped without the mess!

19 users found this review helpful

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