A Mexican way to prepare chicken

Chicken is popular, no matter which way it's prepared! Here in the south, fried chicken and chicken salad are quite possibly the most popular ways it cook it. Chicken is also economical and can be found on sale in the grocery store very often. You may be looking for something new to do with chicken and I'd like to pass along the recipe for new way to prepare it. If you're also a fan of Mexican food, then "Chicken & Cheese Quesadillas" will certainly please you!

This recipe requires you to season chicken breast strips with taco seasoning mix, then baking the chicken. The chicken is then cut into pieces and additional ingredients, such as picante sauce, red pepper and Monterey Jack cheese are added to dress it up. It's then placed on flour tortillas and baked in the oven just long enough to make the top golden brown. Then, you're ready to enjoy it. As you can see, it's not a very involved recipe by any means!

One thing that's very important in preparing this recipe is when cooking the chicken, make sure it's cooked thoroughly. One way to do this is to cut into one of the chicken strips and if the juices run clear and there's no pink visible, then it's ready. Since poultry products should be cooked thoroughly for safety, this is a guideline on doing this whenever you prepare baked chicken.

Serve this along with refried beans and Spanish Rice and you'll have an enjoyable Mexican meal! A while back, I passed along a recipe for Spanish Rice. In case you missed it, here's the link so you can get it:

http://www.examiner.com/article/a-spanish-favorite-that-s-quickly-made

Keep this recipe in mind for a leisurely dinner for company or even for the upcoming Super Bowl. In the meantime, remember this dish for when there's times you want to prepare chicken in a different way or would like a new Mexican dish!

CHICKEN & CHEESE QUESADILLAS

• 4 chicken breast halves, boned, skinned and cut into strips
• 1 pkg. (1-1/4 oz.) taco seasoning mix
• 2-1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 2/3 cup picante sauce
• 1 sweet red pepper, chopped
• 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• melted butter

In a heavy-duty Ziploc bag, combine the chicken with the taco seasoning mix. Toss to coat and chill for one hour. Place the chicken in a large shallow baking pan and broil until chicken tests done. Cool and cut into bite-sized pieces. Combine chicken, cheese, picante sauce and pepper. Brush melted butter on one side of each tortilla. Place half of the tortillas, buttered side down, on lightly greased baking sheets. Top each tortilla with some of the chicken mixture, spreading to the edges. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden. Cut into wedges to serve. Yield: 6 servings.