Chicken Fajitas Quesadillas

Late July. Cody drove down from his Tulsa studio to the Memorial Drive apartment Saturday afternoon for the first time since Dustin and I had moved in. He had completed twenty-eight hours of his eighty-hour community service. Maria Hernandez at the food bank had told him Saturday that he could finish the rest at a pace of four hours a week through October if he wanted to take it slow, or could push to six hours a week and finish by mid-September. Cody had said he wanted to finish by mid-September.

The Saturday afternoon at the apartment was the kind of first-time-visit moment that signaled to me that the apartment was the kind of place a sibling visits. Cody walked through the small two-bedroom with the careful curiosity Mama had used at the apartment tour in late June. He approved of the kitchen layout. He noted that the IKEA dining table I had picked was the same model his Tulsa studio had. He sat in the small living room on the second-hand couch Dustin’s mom had given us and looked out the window for a few minutes. He said: Kay, this is a good apartment.

Sunday I made chicken fajitas quesadillas because Cody had asked at Saturday afternoon for Mexican-leaning Sunday dinner and the apartment had the cast iron and the gas range to do the dish right. Marinated chicken strips (lime, soy, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, oil), peppers and onions, melted cheese, all between two flour tortillas, griddled until crispy in the cast iron. Twenty-five minutes total. The four of us ate at the IKEA dining table: Mama (who had driven over Sunday afternoon), Cody, Dustin, me.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 large flour tortillas (10-inch)
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
Sour cream, salsa, and guacamole for serving

Instructions

Season the chicken. In a medium bowl, toss the sliced chicken with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper until evenly coated.
Cook the chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned chicken and cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and lightly browned. Transfer to a plate.
Saute the vegetables. In the same skillet, add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the sliced peppers and onion and cook over medium-high heat for 6–7 minutes, stirring often, until softened and beginning to char at the edges.
Combine the filling. Return the chicken to the skillet with the vegetables. Stir everything together and cook for 1–2 minutes to meld the flavors. Remove from heat.
Assemble the quesadillas. Lay a flour tortilla flat in a clean skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over one half of the tortilla, add a generous scoop of the chicken and veggie filling, then top with another 1/4 cup cheese. Fold the tortilla over to close.
Cook until golden. Cook the quesadilla for 2–3 minutes per side, pressing gently with a spatula, until the tortilla is golden and crisp and the cheese is fully melted. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
Slice and serve. Cut each quesadilla into wedges and serve immediately with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken Fajitas Quesadillas — A Sunday Dinner for the Cody-Comes-Down Weekend