Chicken Quesadillas

Why is it so hard to leave the pool lately?  For some reason, the closer we get to the end of summer, the harder it is for me to leave the pool to come home.  I've even started packing more snacks to take with us to the pool so that we don't have cut our pool time short to come home when we're hungry.  (I know - super lazy.)  I was at the pool the other day with my daughter and her friend, and it was a perfect July evening.  The sun reflecting off the water was spectacular.  The sky was turquoise blue with puffy white clouds scattered across the horizon.  The girls were having the best time splashing in the cool water and I was perfectly content to sit poolside listening to their happy giggles.  It was way past the time that I should have been home fixing dinner but I just didn't want that perfect July evening to end.  I had some chicken marinating in the refrigerator and I knew it wouldn't take long for me to grill it after I got home.  We stayed at the pool until it was nearly dark when we finally loaded up the pool toys and headed home with wrinkled toes, soggy towels and happy hearts.

When we got home, I lit the grill and I decided to turn my marinated chicken into chicken quesadillas to make them a little more kid-friendly.  It took about an hour to get dinner on the table but it was totally worth the extra pool time.  A prefect end to a great day at the pool.

Chicken Quesadillas
Grilled chicken  (I used tropical island marinated chicken breasts)
Tortillas  (I used chi chi's corn and flour tortillas)
Cheese

Grill chicken and slice thinly.

Brush one side of a tortilla with canola oil.  Place oiled side down on a skillet.  Arrange sliced chicken on top. 

Top with shredded cheese.

Top with another tortilla and brush the outside with canola oil.   Flip quesadilla when browned on bottom.

Slice into triangles.

 Serve.

This is the very basic (plain) version that my kids prefer.  If it were up to me, I'd load up my quesadilla with fresh avocado, salsa, beans, cilantro and sour cream.   You could even get really creative and add bacon or ham.  Don't be afraid to make these your own.  Get creative and send me your fantastic ideas.

Ciao!