Pesto Gouda Quesadillas

About a month ago, at the VATE Conference, I ate with my two fellow English major friends Ashley and Jamie at the Baja Bean Co. restaurant in Staunton, VA. I got their Pesto Quesadilla, which was, of course: basil pesto sauce, shredded chicken, and smoked gouda. I came home from class feeling my inner-chef trying to explode, so I thought of what would be quick and relatively easy, considering how much work I have to do tonight. These came to mind, but I couldn't find a recipe anywhere, so I'm just going to wing it considering they sound pretty self-explanatory.

So I just finished eating my Pesto Gouda Quesadilla (with chips and salsa), and it was awesome, so I'll share the recipe without fear you'll hate it! All of the ingredients costed around $16 from Wal-Mart, and it's about 4 quesadillas worth. Also, I bought the pre-cooked sliced chicken breast pieces because I'm on a time crunch with all the work I have to do tonight. Those were around $4 for 2 quesadillas worth. To cut costs even more, buy boneless chicken breasts, which typically come with 4 pieces, to make 4 to 5 quesadillas for about the same price. In other words, this recipe will feed your entire family (assuming you have the average family of 2-4 people) for less than $20! Around $28 if you add chips & salsa. I'm going to give the recipe as if I bought raw chicken breasts, seeing as that's would I would normally do when it's not the last two weeks of my last semester of classes.

Kitchen Tools: grater, meat cutting board, knife, two skillets, a spoon/spatula to stir chicken, and tongs to fold, flip, and pick up the tortilla and finished quesadilla.

Total Prep & Cook Time per 1 quesadilla = approx. 15 minutes

Ingredients, per 1 quesadilla:
1/2 cup of finely shredded gouda
2 tbsp of basil pesto sauce (typically found in the tomato sauce aisle with pastas)
1 boneless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
1 large flour tortilla (do whole wheat to add healthy points!)
*Optional: olive oil for tortilla--but most people like them without (I tried one with olive oil and one without. I liked the without results better)

Steps:
1. Slice boneless chicken breast into thing strips, season with salt and pepper, and cook on med-hi heat until cooked all the way through. I never time when I cook meat, so I can't give you an exact time, but it will probably take 7-10 minutes per breast (thin sliced breasts take less). Stir every couple of minutes so they don't cook/burn on one side. You can also cook the breasts first then cut into strips--they'll take longer to cook this way--more towards the 10-12 minute range. While meat is cooking, do #2.
2. Shred cheese, 1/2 cup per quesadilla. This isn't set in stone. If you want less cheese, do less. If you want more, shred more. This is what I call an "average" amount. Also, gouda is a very soft cheese, so you have to handle it lightly or it will smoosh.

3. Put tortilla in skillet (with or without olive oil) on med-hi heat. It only takes a few minutes for it to brown. As soon as the "bubbles" get a golden-brown color, it's time to flip it over. Do #4 as soon as you put the toritlla on, as it will brown quickly.
4. After chicken is cooked through, add the pesto sauce and stir in until chicken strips are evenly covered. Let simmer for a minute or two to saturate the flavor.

Chicken with pesto sauce

5. After flipping the tortilla, immediately add the chicken to one half of the tortilla. Sprinkle the gouda on top of the chicken. Give the tortilla another minute to brown on this side before folding it over.
6. Fold the quesadilla over, then flip it over so that the "cheese side" is closer to the heating element to quickly melt it.
7. Remove from pan and cut into halves (better for dinner) or quarters (better for appetizers) and plate!

My final meal!