Okay… let me just call this Quesadilla lookalikes right off the bat! Inspired by Mexican quesadillas – these were less fancy, quick&easy to make and so yummy! For the filling I used ground chicken, shredded zucchini, a combo of shredded cheddar and monterey jack and some warm spices. You can use any filling you want to – bell peppers, corn, kidney beans – adding a handful of cilantro and few squeezes of lemon juice will brighten up the flavors immediately. I had run out of bell peppers and cilantro, so decided to use whatever I had on hand. These were pretty filling and 3 were enough for the three of us.
Ingredients: Servings 3 (there will be some leftover filling)
- Whole-wheat tortillas – 3
- Ground Chicken – 1 lb
- Onion – 1 medium, thinly sliced
- Zucchini – 1 big, shredded
- Garlic – 2 fat cloves, minced
- Cumin Powder – 1/2 tsp
- Coriander Powder – 1/2 tsp
- Black Pepper – 1/2 tsp, freshly crushed
- Salt to taste
- Shredded Cheese 3 or 4 tbsp (use more if you wish)
- Lemon Juice – a couple quick squeezes
- Oil – 1 tsp
- Butter or oil for greasing the baking sheet
Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a baking sheet and keep aside.
In a non-stick pan heat one tsp oil and fry the minced garlic, sliced onions and shredded zucchini till fragrant and translucent. Since I did not add a lot of oil, I had to keep stirring it constantly. Add the ground chicken, fry till it browns while using your spatula to break down the clumps. Season with salt, pepper, cumin powder and coriander powder. You can use taco seasoning or fajita seasoning if you want to. I kept it simple.
Arrange the tortillas on the grease baking sheet. Add 3 or 4 tbsp of the ground chicken-zucchini filling to each tortilla, add a squeeze of lemon juice if you want to and top it off with some shredded cheese. Fold the tortillas in half, add a weight to it (refer to pic) and bake at 400 F for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Flip carefully. Serve hot with guacamole or salsa.
