Cinco de Mayo is a special day to enjoy some Mexican food and maybe a margarita or two. Here is a relaxed easy-to-prepare quesadilla that combines the great taste of those ”cooked in a campfire” foil wrapped meals with a Mexican flair. Pineapple? Yes! Grilled pineapple lends its luscious sweetness to a bit of “south of the border” spiced chicken. This barbecue treat is just as delicious when cooked on a grill with no foil.
Using Zak’s brightly colored dinnerware adds to the springtime energy of Cinco de Mayo. This quesadilla can be served with skewers of various green, white, and red fruits or vegetables. Garnish the skewers with Mexican flag colors. Cardboard paper rolls are easily transformed into napkin holders with either tissue paper or brightly colored sticky notes fringes. Mango hedgehogs are also celebratory. Simply crosscut the inside of a mango and push it inside out. Enjoy the glory of the season and have fun!
zak dinnerware adds color and pizzazz:
Cinco de Mayo Pineapple Chicken Quesadilla Recipe Instructions
cinco de mayo quesadilla recipe
Ingredients
Directions
- 1 large whole, boneless chicken breast
- Several sprigs of cilantro
- 1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into spears
- 1 Tablespoon butter or olive oil
- 1/2 fresh jalapeno
- Barbecue sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Seasoning of your choice
- 2 whole wheat tortillas
- Grated taco blend cheese
- Sour cream, lime wedges and salsa to accompany
- Begin by slicing the top and bottom off of a fresh pineapple. You will need about ¼ of the pineapple for this recipe, but I would recommend cutting the entire pineapple and save the rest for snacking. Cut the body of the pineapple into quarters lengthwise. Half each long wedge. Remove the hard triangular core from each piece. Then cut off the tough prickly skin.
- To prepare the chicken breast, pound it flat with a kitchen mallet. No mallet? An unopened 15 ounce can of vegetables works just fine. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper and add your personal favorites-cumin, taco seasoning, cayenne pepper…Anything! My first choice is Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning.
- Place the chicken breast on a large piece of aluminum foil (shiny side up). If you like, add some barbecue sauce. Wrap the foil securely around the contents. Place the foil package on a preheated barbecue grill and cook for 15 to 20 minutes turning once. Check that the chicken is thoroughly cooked before removing it from the grill.
- In a skillet brown the tortillas on both sides in the butter or margarine. (If you are calorie conscious, you can skip this step, but the buttery taste is sooo good!)
- Cover one tortilla with grated cheese. Slice the jalapeno and use two or three thin slices. Add it to the cheese. Arrange the sliced chicken and pineapple pieces on top along with the fresh cilantro. Drizzle a little more barbecue sauce if you like. When all assembled, return the quesadilla to the skillet. Top it with the remaining tortilla and warm it until the cheese is melting. If you prefer, you can also warm the quesadilla in the oven.
- Cut the quesadilla into 6 pieces and serve with salsa, sour cream, more cilantro and lime wedges.
