Margarita Chicken Quesadillas

My husband requested an "appetizer platter" for his birthday dinner. I found a recipe for Margarita Chicken Quesadillas in a cooking magazine, I was looking at it and while it seemed to have a lime flavor, I couldn't quite see the Margarita part... so I decided to change it up to include an actual margarita flavor.


I used 10 -10 inch tortillas -  it made 40 wedges, great for appetizers for  a crowd, or a main course meal for a few(plus leftovers for us, delicious cold and freezes fantastically!)


Margarita Chicken Marinade:
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 oz tequila(those little "airplane" bottles are perfect)

20 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts(about 4)

Mix water and sugar in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium high heat until all the sugar is dissolved and it is slightly thickened.
Cool completely, then stir in juices and tequila. Place in a large ziplock bag with chicken breasts. (I prick them really well with a fork first too)
Marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, max of 4(the citrus will begin to "cook" the edges so dont go too much over).
* If you want you can use 1 cup pre-made margarita mix in place of the water/sugar/lemon and lime juice mix.

Drain marinade , then you can cook your chicken with your desired method, I recommend grilling outdoors if possible or in a cast iron griddle pan, or failing that broiling.

I used a griddle pan and actually ended up adding some of the marinade to the bottom of the pan.
Cook your chicken to 165 degrees, allow to cool slightly



slice into 1/4 inch slices, set aside












1 TB canola oil
1 yellow sweet pepper, julienned
1 orange sweet pepper, julienned
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil ever medium heat, add peppers, sauté until tender, season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
I ended up chopping mine a bit smaller than the julienne slice, you can do either or.






Lime Butter:
3 TB butter
1 TB fresh lime juice
1 TB chopped fresh cilantro

Melt butter, add lime juice and cilantro, set aside.











Remaining ingredients:

10 - 10 inch flour tortillas
1 1/4 cups shredded Colby Jack Cheese
 10 slices Pepper Jack Cheese


Assembly:
Preheat oven to 350
Grease a large baking sheet

Place a tortilla on the baking sheet, on half the tortilla add about 2 TB colby jack, then some chicken, then some pepper mixture and top a slice(torn) of pepper jack.








Fold over the top and brush with cilantro lime butter.

Repeat with remaining tortillas and ingredients until you are all done.

Bake in hot oven and bake 8-10 minutes until the cheese is melted. I even broiled mine to cri

Cut into 4 wedges and serve hot!




These freeze very well! Cut into wedges and lay flat in a single layer. Cover well and freeze, when fully frozen they can be placed in a freezer bag.
To reheat either microwave covered in a paper towel for 1-2 minutes(checking often) or heat on a baking sheet at 350 until they are heated through(about 20-30 minutes)