Chicken Quesadillas with Homemade Guacamole

Tonight we are having Chicken Quesadillas. I know it's October, and that doesn't really spell Mexican food, but with homemade guacamole, it is hard to resist these healthy, little items. And you will find out that Mexican food is one style of food that you will be hard-pressed to do cheaper at home than you can dine out. And if you have a place as good as La Guadalapana near you, as we do here in Memphis, then I would minimize your Mexican cooking to only specific dishes. I find quesadaillas something I prefer to do at home.

Cook Time 30 minutes

1 lb. of chicken breasts $4.00
2 Avocados $2.50
1 Tomato $.45
1 white onion $.30
1 bunch of cilantro $.80
2 limes $.66
1 clove of garlic $.05
salt and pepper $.10
Ground Cumin $.50
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese $1.50
4 Whole wheat or Flour Tortillas $1.50

Total: $12.36 or $3.09 a serving

Chicken Quesadillas:
Season your chicken with salt and pepper and cumin. Bake in the oven at 350 F for 30 minutes. If you want to save time and you know you will be using chicken in a lot of dishes in the week to come, bake all of your chicken at once. I will bake off five to six breasts, all with different seasonings depending on what I am using them for, and then slice them and refrigerate them until I need them. Once your breasts are finished baking, slice them into thin slivers for use in the quesadillas. You want them pretty thin so they fit inside the tortilla.

Dice a tomato.

Heat a pan over the stove top until it gets very hot. Make sure the pan is very clean and very dry. No oil. Place a tortilla in the pan and quickly fill with chicken, shredded cheese and diced tomatoes. Fold the quesadilla closed, and watch it closely. The tortilla will brown on the bottom in maybe three minutes. Adjust the heat if you need to. Once the underside is brown, flip the quesadilla and brown on the other side. The quesadilla is done when the cheese melts. Remove from the pan, and slice into 4 sections. Serve with homemade guacamole.

Homemade Guacamole:
This is much easier to prepare with a food processor. The base for any good salsa or guacamole is simple. This recipe will make enough for two or three batches of guacamole or salsa.

One bunch of cilantro
Juice from 2 limes
1 white onion chopped fine
1 garlic clove
Plenty of salt
Pepper
(optional) half or a whole jalapeno (depending on how hot you like it. Fresh jalapenos are HOT. They aren't like those jarred deals. Be careful handling fresh jalapenos as the oil from them stays on your fingers even after you wash them.

You must chop all of this very fine. If you run it through a food processor, slice it till it looks almost like pesto. Very fine. Add salt to bring out all the flavors. Salt and lime juice make an amazing flavor!

This is the base for my salsa and guacamole. From here to make salsa add three or four tomatoes and more salt. Chop the tomatoes to whatever consistency you prefer. If you like chunky salsa, leave them larger. If you like thin salsa, chop them up really well. And remember, if you don't get a strong kick of flavors, add more salt. Most fresh vegetables don't have much sodium, so you will have to add it to bring out the flavors. And don't worry, it is very hard to over-salt salsa and guacamole.

To make guacamole, add one tomato to the base and two avocados. Once again, mix, mash and chop to desired consistency.

This will be the freshest, best-tasting salsa and guacamole you have ever tasted. You will never buy another store brand ever again. And look at the ingredient list and compare it to what you might buy at the store. There is nothing in your salsa and guacamole that you cannot pronounce.