“I wish my stove came with a ‘Save As’ button like Word has. That way I could experiment with my cooking and not fear ruining my dinner.” -Jarod Kintz
Quesadillas are an easy & delicious meal: a corn or flour tortilla filled with a mixture of cheese and other ingredients, folded in half and served with salsa, guacamole, or sour cream. Sounds simple right? Exactly! I try to stock up on basic quesadilla ingredients (cheese, whole-wheat tortillas, peppers etc…) so that I always have something to rely on a for a quick weeknight meal. I like experimenting with different fillings other than the classic Mexican-style quesadilla because it changes up the routine and its fun creating new varieties. For this recipe I wanted to try something different but use basic ingredients I already had on hand.
With a combination of chicken, bacon and avocado I knew it would be a delicious meal (unlike a combination I experimented with a few weeks ago with Gruyere cheese, arugula and mushrooms…). I’ve seen many restaurants serve quesadillas as appetizers but I find that quesadillas are very filling, however, to round out the meal I’ll usually serve it with a small salad. It also depends on personal taste because I’m usually full after eating a half (1 tortilla folded over) of a quesadilla but my boyfriend requests a full (2 tortilla) size quesadilla!
Chicken, Bacon & Avocado Quesadillas
Adapted from, Kevin & Amanda
- Yield : 4 servings
Ingredients
- Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas - 4, medium-sized
- Chicken Breast Halves - 4, aproximately 4 oz each
- Salt & Pepper - to taste
- Scallions - 1/4 cup
- Bacon - 8 thin slices
- Avocado - 1 medium, diced
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese - 1 cup
- Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon, divided
Instructions
- Cook bacon according to package directions (I usually cook it in the oven while preparing the chicken: bake @ 350 for 10 minutes on each side or until desired crispness!). Allow bacon to cool and crumble into bits; set aside.
- Peel & cut avocado using a cross-hatch pattern; see example here. Spoon out avocado pieces and set aside.
- Pour two teaspoons of olive oil in pan over medium heat; swirl to coat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, chop into cubes and cook in pan until golden and cooked through. Add scallions and saute with chicken until softened (about 2-3 minutes). Remove chicken and scallions and set aside.
- Pour remaining teaspoon of olive oil into skillet and add one tortilla. Top with chicken, avocado, crumbled bacon and 1/4 cup cheese. Use tongs to flip the other half of the tortilla over and cook for about 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted and tortilla is golden brown.
- Repeat above steps with remaining tortillas. Serve & enjoy!
