Spicy Pineapple Chicken Quesadilla - I couldn't not share this

I used to work at a Tex-Mex restaurant, and one of my favorite meals to gulp down between the dinner rush and the late-night crowd was a pineapple chicken quesadilla. It’s been a long time since I worked at that restaurant, but I remembered those quesadillas other day and thought I’d try my own hand at it. I enjoyed it so much that I immediately wrote down the recipe, and now I’m sharing it with you all!

I think most slop recipe sites are lying about how long it takes to prep and cook a meal, so I’ve made a reasonable guess at how long it took me to make everything from beginning to end. You’ll be prepping and cooking for 40-60 minutes altogether. I also included the kitchen tools I used and wrote separate directions for the prep work to help other executive dysfunctional bitches like myself.

Prep time: 30-40 minutes

Cook time: 10-20 minutes

Servings: 4 quesadillas

Kitchen tools

• Large skillet with a lid
• Medium bowl
• Large bowl
• Cutting board
• Paper towels
• Dicing knife
• Spatula
• Spoon or small whisk
• Tablespoon
• ½ teaspoon

Fajita-style marinade

• Fajita seasoning, tablespoon
• Olive oil, tablespoon
• Lime juice, tablespoon
• Salt, ½ teaspoon
• Pepper, ½ teaspoon
• Cumin, ½ teaspoon
• Jalapeno spice, pinch

Ingredients

• Fajita-style marinade
• Thin-cut chicken breast cut into small cubes, 1.5lbs
• Pineapple chunks sliced in half, 7oz
• Baby bella mushrooms sliced thin, handful (about 8 mushrooms)
• Banana pepper rings, handful
• Pickled red onion slices, handful (I usually make my own, but they sell these pickled in stores too!)
• Shredded pepper jack cheese, 1oz
• Shredded mozzarella cheese, 1oz
• Four large tortillas
• Butter, 1 tablespoon

Optional toppings and sides

• Salsa, red or green
• Sour cream
• Spiced refried beans
• Tortilla chips

Prepare

1. Marinated chicken
   1. In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients for the fajita-style marinade.
   2. Use paper towels to remove excess moisture from the chicken breast.
   3. Cut the thin chicken breast into small cubes and add to the medium bowl with the marinade.
   4. Toss to coat the chicken in the marinade
   5. You can choose to marinate the chicken for 1-2 hours, but it’s not necessary. It’s delicious either way!
2. Pineapple
   1. Dump the pineapple chunks in a strainer over the sink
   2. Slice the cubed pineapple chunks in half and place on a plate
   3. Use a paper towel to squeeze out excess water
   4. Place the sliced chunks in a large bowl
3. Mushrooms
   1. Thinly slice the baby bella mushrooms
   2. In the large skillet over medium heat, add ½ tablespoon of olive oil and let it heat up. Add the mushrooms to the skillet, toss to coat in the olive oil, and stir occasionally for 3 minutes.
   3. Remove from heat, then use a paper towel to squeeze excess moisture from the cooked mushrooms.
   4. Add to the large bowl
4. Use a paper towel to squeeze excess moisture from the banana pepper rings, then add to the large bowl
5. Use a paper towel to squeeze excess moisture from the pickled red onions, then add to the large bowl
6. Shred the pepper jack and mozzarella and set to the side.

By the end of your preparations, you should have the following:

• Medium bowl with chicken cubes tossed in fajita-style marinade
• Large bowl with pineapple, cooked mushrooms, banana peppers, and pickled red onions
• Shredded pepper jack and mozzarella cheese on a plate or cutting board

Directions

1. Cook chicken
   1. Add the tossed chicken cubes to the large skillet on medium heat. Let sit for 4 minutes to sear, then stir occasionally for another 4 minutes. Remove from heat and put the chicken in a large bowl.
   2. Let the skillet cool slightly, then clean out excess spice and chicken debris.
   3. Toss the prepared ingredients and cooked chicken in the large bowl.
2. Prepare tortillas
   1. Lay two tortillas flat, then sprinkle some shredded cheese on the left half of the tortilla.
   2. Add a handful of the mixed ingredients on top of the cheese on the left half.
   3. Sprinkle another handful of shredded cheese on top of the ingredients, then close the tortilla like a book.
   4. Repeat with two more tortillas, or save the remaining ingredients for tomorrow’s lunch!
3. Grill quesadillas
   1. Heat the clean skillet to a low heat.
   2. Add a small dab of butter to the pan and let melt until the melted butter is slightly sizzling.
   3. Add two folded tortillas to the pan, making sure the top half stays closed.
   4. Cover the skillet with the lid and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Listen and smell to make sure the tortillas are not burning!
   5. Use a spatula to remove the quesadillas, then add another dab of butter to the pan. The butter will likely immediately sizzle, so flip the quesadillas and add back to the pan and cover it with the lid to grill the other side of the tortilla. This side will likely cook faster, so let sit for 1-2 minutes. Listen and smell for burning tortillas!
   6. Remove the tortillas from the skillet and set aside.
   7. Repeat for the final two quesadillas if you are making four.

I plated one quesadilla per person with a side of refried beans and tortilla chips. If you’re hungry enough, you could absolutely do two quesadillas per person! The quesadillas went great with some chunky red salsa and sour cream.