Smoked Chicken Quesadillas

Ladies’ Home Journal Family FavoritesCookbook, p. 3

1/3 cup sliced red onion

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Pinch sugar

1 firm-ripe mango, peeled, cut (avoiding pit) into ¼-inch dice

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 oz low-fat soft mild plain goat cheese, softened

½ teaspoon ground cumin

8 (7-inch) low-fat flour tortillas

5 oz purchased cooked smoked chicken breast or deli-sliced smoked turkey, coarsely chopped

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

I'm guessing that's something close to 1/3 cup, anyway.

The peel actually comes away pretty easily.  The pit is a different story.

After this step, the kitchen officially smells awesome. 

Deli-sliced smoked turkey it is.

Toss together onion, 1 tablespoon of the juice and the sugar in a small bowl. Marinate onion at room temperature, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.

Onions are a graceful vegetable. 

Meanwhile, stir together mango, ¼ cup of the cilantro and 1 tablespoon of the juice in another bowl; salt and pepper to taste, for mango salsa.

So simple!

Using a fork, stir together cheese, cumin and remaining 1 tablespoon juice until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Even if you get the kind of goat cheese that looks crumbly, it mooshes down into a paste without very much effort. 

Spread cheese mixture on one side of each of 4 tortillas. 

Not enough goat cheese, that's what I say.

Top with onion, remaining ¼ cup cilantro and the chicken. 

Pretty pretty.

Pretty tasty!

Cover with remaining tortillas, pressing together.

Heat ½ tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over moderate heat. Cook each quesadilla, turning once, until golden brown and cheese begins to melt, about 3 minutes (add remaining oil as needed). 

This is what a quesadilla looks like in the pan.

Transfer to a cutting board and cut into wedges. Serve with mango salsa.

I don't normally put a lot of effort into "plating" things, but it took almost no work to make this aesthetic.

My Rating: 4/5 "Wonderful flavors. Absolutely wonderful. The only fault I could find was that I wanted more of the amazing stuff inside! (And to be honest, I cheated and worked in an ounce more goat cheese than the recipe recommended.)