New Year's Cooking Resolutions

I know that it is now several days into 2008 and I still haven’t quite finalized all my New Year’s Resolutions. However, there are two cooking related resolutions that I have decided to give a go this year. The first is to cook out of some of my underused, but not unloved cookbooks. I love cookbooks and have quite a collection and while there are several that get used very frequently there are others that don’t… in fact there are several that have never been used. So, I am going to make a big effort to cook out of the underused cookbooks this year. My other cooking resolution is to try to create more of my own recipes. By more I mean other than my Chicken Taco Salad recipe which really isn’t that creative. I tweak recipes frequently by adding more or less of certain ingredients, adding additional ingredients, making substitutions, and other changes, but I almost always use a recipe as a guide. This year I’d like to try to break away from the recipes sometimes and try to create dishes on my own. I am not sure how original they will be or how many times Russ will need to call for pizza to be delivered, but I am going to give it a try.

So, tonight I started working on my second cooking resolution and created my own version of chicken quesadillas. Since I am not very experienced with creating recipes I decided to try something that I felt was fairly fool proof and not totally foreign to me – quesadillas. I put one large boneless, skinless chicken breast in a small pot of water to cook. While the chicken cooked I started sautéing sliced white onions and red pepper in a pan with a little canola oil over medium heat. Once they had softened I added a can of black beans (which I had drained and rinsed), about a cup of frozen corn kernels, about 2 teaspoons of cumin, about 1 teaspoon of chile powder, and some salt and pepper. I let this sauté until everything was hot. Then I put them in a bowl to the side. By now the chicken breast had cooked, so I removed it and shredded it. Then I placed the shredded chicken in the pan over low heat with one chipotle chile and about a teaspoon of adobo sauce and mixed them together for about a minute. Then I removed the chicken and set it aside. I sprayed my non-stick skillet with a little Pam and placed a flour tortilla in it. I then put a little cheese (I used a shredded Mexican mix) on the tortilla and topped it with a layer of the vegetables and then chicken. I then put a little more cheese on it and topped it with another flour tortilla. I left it alone until the bottom tortilla was slightly brown and then I flipped it and let the other side brown. I served the quesadillas with a little sour cream and salsa and did a simple salad as a side.

For one of my first tries the quesadillas turned out really well. I really liked the flavor combination of the onions, red peppers, black beans and corn. The seasoning turned out very well where it had some spice and heat to it without overwhelming the other flavors. Russ and I both really enjoyed them and Russ rates them a 9.

Reba’s Chicken Quesadillas
Serves 2

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 chipotle pepper and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 red pepper, sliced
1 large white onion, sliced
1 cup frozen corn
1 14 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chile powder
Kosher salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 and half cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Cook the chicken breast in a pot of water until just cooked through. Then shred. While the chicken cooks heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil has heated add the onion and red peppers and sauté until they have softened. Then add the corn, black beans, cumin, chile powder, salt and pepper. Continue to sauté until the seasoning is mixed in and all the vegetables are hot. Then remove the vegetable mixture and set aside. Add the shredded chicken to the pan with the chipotle chile and adobo sauce over low heat and mix them together for about a minute. Then remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Spray the non-stick skillet with a little Pam and then place a flour tortilla in it (over medium to low heat). Then add a layer of cheese, then vegetables, then chicken and top it with more cheese and another tortilla. Leave it alone until the bottom tortilla is slightly browned. Then flip the quesadilla and let the other tortilla brown slightly. Remove from the pan, cut into four triangles and serve immediately. Serve sour cream and salsa on the side.