Who doesn’t love a quesadilla?
You can make a bazillion different kinds of quesadillas and they’re mad easy to make. I bet you’ve whipped up some before. What kind was it? Was it a hit? No really, I’d love to know because I’m always looking for more interesting recipes to make. 🙂
Like any good Greek girl, I love spinach pie (aka spanakopita). Last year I was inspired to take the flavors from it and turn it into a low carb dinner. The result was a delicious Spinach Pie Spaghetti Squash dish. The spinach filling was so delicious that my husband kept “testing” it right out of the pan. If you go back with the fork 5 or 8 times, is it really testing it at that point? 😉 I’m not going to complain though because the dish wasn’t for guests and I love when he loves what I make. The filling is some creamy dreamy spinach filled with herbs and feta cheese so of course it’s a winner on its own.
So how do I turn this gold mine into another fabuloso dish? It so happened that at that time we were in the midst of holiday entertaining and somehow I came up with the idea using a slightly modified version of the spinach filling in a quesadilla… a Greek quesadilla, if you will.
They were a huge hit! I made them for several parties because no one could get enough of them. I actually made them without the chicken so if you’re not feeling meat (God knows I’m not most of the time), then feel free to skip it. It’s still crazy delicious.
For kicks and giggles, I decided to add chicken to them. Believe me, I still can’t believe I thought that, but I did. So I’m going with it.
These quesadillas are closer to a Greek spinach pie than the spaghetti squash dish. The best part is that I didn’t need 20 pots, several pounds of butter, and a special trip to the grocery store for filo dough. Who has that kind of time? I’m totally content with turning out these quick and tasty quesadillas instead. Part Greek, part Mexican, 100% yummy.
Spinach Pie (Spanakopita) Chicken Quesadillas Recipe
(About 4 to 8 servings if served as an appetizer)
Ingredients:
- 1 pound chicken (You can use any kind of skinless chicken. I used chicken breast tenderloins.)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 tablespoon plus 4 teaspoons of olive oil (divided per the directions below)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 10 ounces spinach (I used frozen spinach.)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
- 2 ounces cream cheese (I used Neufchâtel cheese.)
- 4 ounces feta cheese, chopped
- 8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
Directions:
- In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Add the chicken. Season it with salt and pepper and cook it. Once it’s done cooking remove it from the skillet.
- Chop the chicken into small pieces and set it aside.
- In a medium skillet, over Medium heat, heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the chopped onions until they are tender and browned.
- Add in the spinach and season the mixture with salt, pepper, parsley, and dill.
- Cook the spinach mixture until the spinach is hot and most of the water has evaporated.
- Turn the heat down to Low/Simmer and stir in the cream cheese and chopped feta cheese.
- Once the cream cheese has melted, remove the mixture from the heat.
- Clean out the skillet and heat it again over Medium heat. Cleaning the skillet between the chicken and the onions isn’t needed, but it really is here to avoid strange things sticking to the tortillas while you cook them.
- To build each quesadilla:
- Coat the skillet with 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil.
- Lay 1 tortilla in the skillet.
- Spread roughly 1/2 cup of spinach filling in a single layer over the tortilla.
- Sprinkle about 1/4 of the cooked chicken on top of the spinach layer.
- Place a 2nd tortilla on top and gently press it down. (Carefully!)
- After a few seconds, lift a corner of the tortilla and check the underside. When you see golden brown spots on the underside of the tortilla, the quesadilla is ready to flip.
- Use the spatula to lift the quesadilla out of the pan. Add another 1/2 teaspoon of oil to the pan and flip the quesadilla over, back into the pan.
- Let it cook for about another 1 minute, again until the tortilla turns golden brown.
- Remove the quesadilla to a cutting board and cut it into 4 wedges. (I used a normal pizza cutter.)
- Repeat the above until you have no more ingredients left.
Source: Tina’s Chic Corner
Here are some other awesome appetizer ideas.
How fun! I love spanikopita and these quesadillas are like a slightly healthier version because they don’t have the phyllo!
Right on! 🙂
Can’t wait to try the quesadillas! They sound delish! Will let you know. Thanks!
Wahoo! I hope you love them as much as we do! 🙂