Chicken and Mushroom Quesadillas

This was a great quesadilla recipe that I will definitely keep on hand and make again soon! Jay came home for lunch and loved the way it made the house smell!

Ingredients:

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (we used 2 smaller ones)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

5 ounces white mushrooms, sliced (about 3 cups)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 pickled jalapeno, minced, plus 1 tablespoon of the jar juices

1 19 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 8 inch flour tortillas (we used 4)

2 cups cheddar cheese (recipe calls for white cheddar, but we used regular cheddar)

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat; add 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook the chicken until nicely browned on both sides. Cool the chicken and then tear into bite size pieces.

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, the cumin, and some black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are dry. Transfer mushrooms to a small bowl.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil to the skillet along with the onion, garlic, jalapeno and the jar juices, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook until the onion is translucent. Add the beans and mash them into the onion mixture until the mixture is smooth but still dotted with bits of bean.

Lay the tortillas on your work surface and spread 1/4 of the beans on half of each one. Follow the beans with 1/4 of the cheese, half of the chicken, half of the mushrooms and finally the rest of the cheese. I spread the mixture out on the whole bottom of the tortilla and topped with an additional tortilla.

In a clean skillet (or panini press) fry each quesadilla in 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter. Cut into wedges and serve.

Enjoy!