Quick and Easy Suppers for Busy Moms – Simple Chicken Quesadillas –

I almost feel crazy sharing this one because it’s not really a recipe. These Simple Chicken Quesadillas are so easy, you don’t really even need instructions. It’s mostly just throwing a few food items, which happen to be ones we always have on hand, together for a simple but delicious supper on nights when you’re trying to feed everyone while running out the door.

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Simple Chicken Quesadillas are great if you have picky eaters. Since we have four kids, there’s always bound to be one who doesn’t really prefer what we’re having, but these quesadillas are something everyone here will eat because they can easily be customized to each child’s likes. Some of the kids don’t like onions, so I don’t put onions on theirs. My husband HATES sour cream, so I omit the sour cream from his. I told you it was simple!

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What You Need:

• butter or cooking spray
• tortilla shells
• sour cream
• dried cilantro
• onion powder
• garlic salt
• chili powder
• shredded chicken
• shredded cheese
• salsa
• onions & peppers (optional)
• taco seasoning (optional)

Cooking the Chicken

There are a couple of ways you could do the chicken for Simple Chicken Quesadillas. If I’m cooking a whole chicken in the crockpot for soup or chicken and noodles, I’ll just put back some of that chicken for quesadillas. You could also buy a rotisserie chicken and pick that clean. I often buy rotisserie chickens to make bone broth because they’re about the same price as buying a frozen whole chicken. My kids love rotisserie chicken, so they usually eat that as soon as we’re home from the grocery store and leave the carcass, so I can throw it in the crockpot. If you don’t have children who scarf down an entire rotisserie chicken in less than five minutes, you could use the chicken from a rotisserie chicken.

Most often I just use the frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts from the big bag I buy at Aldi (or Meijer if it’s on sale). I throw 3-4 of the frozen chicken breasts from the bag into a soup pot. I fill it a few inches from the top with water, and then I leave it to boil. I don’t really watch it. I just check on it every once in a while when I walk through the kitchen. Sometimes I grab a fork and a knife and pull the chicken apart into smaller pieces as some of it starts to cook. This allows it to cook through in less time. Once I’ve boiled the heck out of it. I pour it into a strainer and shred the chicken. I know some people use a mixer for shredding chicken, but I don’t want to get more dishes dirty, so I just shred it with my hands. If it’s too hot to touch, just run cold water over it while you shred it.

Sometimes I return the shredded chicken to the same pot with just a little bit of water and add a little taco seasoning. Then I simmer that for a few minutes. If I’m rushed, I don’t even do that because I add spices to each tortilla shell anyway. It’s fine without simmering it in the taco seasoning.

Assembling Simple Chicken Quesadillas

I have a really great round cast iron griddle. If you don’t have one of these, you should get one. I love cast iron. It’s not nearly as easy to burn your food when you get distracted if you’re using cast iron. All of my cast iron pieces are items my dad has picked up at auctions through the years, but you can buy cast iron in most camping departments.

First I heat my skillet and then grease it with butter or spray it with cooking spray. If I just have onions, I usually add a couple tablespoons of butter to the skillet and saute my onions for a few minutes. Then I scrape those from the skillet into a bowl and set aside. I rinse the skillet and add a little more butter/cooking spray.

If I happen to have onions and peppers, I saute those in a separate skillet on the back burner. I only have peppers if they happen to be on sale that week or my garden is producing them. The vast majority of the time, I do not have peppers when I make Simple Chicken Quesadillas.

When my griddle is ready, I spread sour cream on one shell. I sprinkle my spices (onion powder, garlic salt, chili powder, and dried cilantro) on the sour cream. I buy dried cilantro at the Amish bulk foods store because it’s way cheaper. You can read more about the Amish bulk foods store in this post.

I place the shell on the griddle, dry side down. I add shredded chicken and shredded cheese on top of the sour cream. If it’s a person who likes onions, I add the onions as well. Then I top that with a dry tortilla shell.

I use a spatula to flip the entire concoction at regular intervals. You need to let the cheese melt just a little before flipping to help hold it together when you flip the Simple Chicken Quesadilla. It’s really just like making a grilled cheese. You all know how to make grilled cheese, right?

When both sides are lightly browned I remove it from the griddle and cut the quesadilla into small triangles. Do NOT try to do this with a knife! It’s so much easier to cut with scissors.

I repeat the process several more times, adding and omitting ingredients according to each person’s preferences. Actually one of the girls usually ends up flipping the rest while I clean up the dishes.

We serve these Simple Chicken Quesadillas with sour cream and salsa for dipping. If avocados were on sale that week, I also make guacamole. Not to brag, but my guacamole is better than any restaurant’s because restaurants never use enough garlic.

What’s your favorite goto supper in a pinch? What foods do you find yourself turning to again and again on busy nights?

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