Entrees

Mexican

The Ultimate Quesadilla Quake Bake

The idea for this dish came from a great friend who enjoys the combination cake and quesadillas. This stacked dish is a lover for those who enjoy that spicy mexican cuisine. Quesadillas stacked until they became architecture.

What It Is

Origin

The Dinner by the Minute source lists the origin as: Spain (Madrid), Mexico.

Fun Fact

Quesadilla translates roughly to "little cheesy thing," which is both accurate and possibly the most honest food name in this entire cookbook.

Prep

25 min

Cook

35 min

Temp

Oven, moderate heat

Total

1 hr

Servings

6 wedges

(portion sizes are a suggestion, not a law)

Difficulty

moderate

Diet

Nut-Free, High-Protein

Away Mission

110 min walk

(Spock could calculate this more efficiently, but where's the fun in that)

#entr-es-mains #mexican-inspired-fusion #the-ultimate-quesadilla-quake-bake

Ingredients

3 or 4 10-inch fajita wraps
3 cups shredded chicken
1 cup salsa, drained
1 can green chilies
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
Sour cream, optional topping
Chopped lettuce, optional topping
Chopped tomatoes, optional topping
Green onions, optional topping
Black olives, optional topping
Pickled jalapeños, optional topping

Steps

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Lightly spray a 10” spring form pan with cooking spray. Lay a fajita wrap on the bottom of the spring form pan. Spoon some of the green chilies onto the fajita, spreading it with the back of the spoon. Place your salsa in a sieve to drain most of the liquid out of the salsa. Add a layer of salsa on top of the fajita then a layer of shredded chicken, about 1 cup. Sprinkle some shredded cheese overtop of all this yumminess. Lay another fajita wrap down and repeat the process with the chilies, salsa, chicken and cheese until your run out of chicken.
Reserve enough cheese (or use additional cheese) for the top fajita wrap. You will only be putting cheese on top of your tower of quesadilla.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Place under the broiler for a few minutes if you would like a crispy top. Remove the quesadilla from the spring form pan, transferring it to a cutting board or other cutting surface and cut into wedges to serve. Top with desired toppings: chopped lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, black olives, and jalapenos.

Notes

Drain the salsa well before adding it, or the whole bake turns watery instead of properly melty.

Nutrition Facts

Per 1 wedge

Calories 490

Burning this off: several minutes of aggressively pretending to enjoy a work Zoom call.

% Daily Value*

Fat 20.0 g 27%

Saturated + Trans 10 g 50%

Cholesterol 140 mg

Sodium 1610 mg 70%

Carbohydrate 26.0 g

Fibre 4.0 g 14%

Sugars 8.0 g 8%

Protein 51.0 g

Potassium 700 mg 15%

Calcium 360 mg 28%

Iron 3.1 mg 17%

*5% or less is a little, 15% or more is a lot. Sodium levels calculated in a country with universal healthcare — and it's free, so don't worry about it too much.

A genuinely respectable nutrition profile. No red flags here — go ahead and feel a little smug about it.

Substitutions

Flour tortillas work fine instead of fajita wraps specifically. Rotisserie chicken saves real time here if you've got one sitting around. Any melty cheese covers for cheddar — Monterey Jack especially.

Storage

Refrigerate in a covered dish for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven rather than the microwave if you'd like the tortilla to stay anything close to crisp.

Freezing

Not stated in the cookbook. Most cooked bases can be frozen in airtight meal-sized portions, but dairy sauces, potatoes and fresh garnishes may change texture after thawing.