Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

Was it really that easy?

So tonight is the first night on my quest to finding tasty, healthy, easy, and budget friendly meals for my family  (well at least my first night blogging about it :-) ).  I am always on the lookout for healthy things that my family enjoys but I don't have hours to make gourmet meals nor do I have hundreds of dollars a week to spend.

I am a mother of a 2 year old daughter and a 9 month old son, as well as a foster mom to a 9-year-old son and expecting a new addition in August.  So, I am a typical busy mom that loves my family and wants to provide the best without spending all of my spare time in the kitchen.  Hopefully I will be successful in my search and I hope to help you in the process!  Several times I have made a meal that was said to be quick and easy, only to find that I am still cooking an hour and a half later which is so frustrating!  Well, now I will help you avoid those meals by letting you know the verdict before you try it.  I welcome your comments as well as the recipes that you have tested.  For my first night I made Easy Chicken-mushroom quesadillas from www.foodnetwork.com.

Kid friendly?
This meal was very tasty -- even my super picky foster son liked them (he picked out all of the mushrooms, but he ate most of it); actually, I think this was the first time he complimented a meal instead of complaining!  My 2-year-old daughter ate them, although she dissected them like she does most meals.  

Preparation-Time?
This meal wasn't as quick to prepare as the recipe stated; they told me it would only take 28 minutes to complete with the prep and cook time, but it took me about 40-45 minutes. But to their credit, their recipe called for cooked chicken and I had to cook my chicken; I'm sure there are several people who are faster chefs then I am!  My prep time was definitely cut short with the help of my food processor -- quite the meal life saver! 

Was it easy on the pennies?
This meal was pretty budget friendly, it was fairly simple ingredients and you could probably get away with cheaper then I did.  I purchased fresh mushrooms instead of canned because I like the taste so much better; if you do canned, it would cost probably 2 or 3 dollars less.
So, without further ado, the recipe...

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Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

Eating Healthy in 2009. Copyright 2007 Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/easy-chicken-mushroom-quesadillas-recipe/index.html

Prep Time:

12 min

Cook Time:

16 min

Serves:

4 servings

Ingredients

·                              1 tablespoon canola oil (I used olive oil)

·                              1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)

·                              8 ounces white button mushrooms, (about 3 cups)

·                              3 cloves garlic, minced

·                              2 cups cooked chopped skinless, boneless chicken breast (1 breast half)

·                              1 teaspoon ground cumin

·                              1 teaspoon chili powder

·                              1 teaspoon dried oregano

·                              2 cups baby spinach leaves, sliced into ribbons

·                              1/2 teaspoon salt

·                              1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

·                              4 (10-inch) whole-grain flour tortillas

·                              1 cup shredded Mexican cheese mix or Cheddar

·                              1/2 cup salsa

·                              1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the mushroom water is evaporated and they begin to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add chicken, cumin, chili powder and oregano and stir until all spices are incorporated. Add spinach, salt and pepper and cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

Lay 1 tortilla on a flat work surface and sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Spoon 1/2 chicken and vegetable mixture on top of cheese, then top with an additional 1/4 cup cheese. Top with another flour tortilla. Heat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray over medium heat. Carefully place 1 quesadilla in pan and cook 3 minutes. Using a large spatula, gently flip quesadilla and cook an additional 3 minutes until lightly browned and cheese is melted. Repeat with second quesadilla. Slice each quesadilla into quarters. Place 2 quarters on a plate with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 2 tablespoons salsa.

Would I do anything different next time around?

A couple things I would do differently next time is to chop up the mushrooms. I just used sliced ones and they were a little big; plus I would grill the chicken instead of cooking it in the skillet.