Quesadilla Inception

How about a food post - we haven't had one in a bit. Leslie made this delicious dish the other day and I was a huge fan, even if it's a Rachel Ray (the Jerry Springer of food) recipe. This is our 15th recipe and can be found here.

The Recipe

Spinach and Chicken Tortilla Bake

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

4 Chicken Cutlets (about 1 pound)

Salt and Pepper

1-1/2 Cups Salsa Verde

3/4 Cup Ricotta Cheese

4 Tortillas (around 8" size)

1/2 Red Onion (sliced thinly)

3 Cups Baby Spinach

2 Cups Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese

Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper then cook in the pan, turning once, until done. Let the chicken cool and then shred it. Whisk together the salsa and ricotta, seasoning with salt and pepper. Grease a 9" baking dish and build a tortilla lasagna by layering your ingredients - start with the salsa mixture, then a tortilla, chicken, onion, spinach, and cheese. Repeat this two more times and then top with the last tortilla. Bake in a 450 degree oven until golden-brown (about 20 mins) and let stand 10 mins before serving.

End Results and Final Thoughts

It looks kinda gross when you're making it, but this recipe was good and I loved it. It also kept very well in the fridge and was just as good the next day (better, maybe?). It's also fairly spicy, or at least ours was. Leslie got a jar of salsa verde that was a little more spicy, which was great. I like spicy food, so no complains here. In fact, one thing that might be good would be to add a little cayenne or chili powder to the ricotta / salsa mixture to up the heat a bit. You could also add a few layers of chopped peppers if you were so inclined. But hey, that's up to you and I take no responsibility for what happens if you do (unless it's awesome... then it was totally my idea). This recipe will be a keeper for us. While we don't usually have most of these ingredients around, there aren't many elements of this dish and picking everything up at the store would be pretty easy. Plus, if you're running low on time, just pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store while you're at it and then no need to cook your own! Just shred the breast and save the rest (for breakfast with some waffles, maybe).

And that's all the time we have for now. Have a good weekend and we'll be back on Tuesday!