Cheesy Fiesta Taco-dillas

If you love tacos and quesadillas, you have got to try these cheesy fiesta taco-dillas! That’s right, it can be a taco or a quesadilla and since my family couldn’t decide when I made this dish, I am calling them taco-dillas!

Now, these are not your basic quick fix taxo or quesadilla. This dish is turned up a notch with a burst of flavor, spice, crispyness and sauce!

So! Let’s get cooking

For this recipe, you will need:

2 lbs chicken thighs cut up into small cubes

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Paprika

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp Oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1 cup finely chopped sweet bell peppers

1 cup finely chopped white onion

2 tsp cooking oil

11-12 taco size corn/flour tortillas

12-16 oz Mexican cheese

For the salsa:

1/4 cup of cilantro

6 ripe tomatoes

1/4 cup red onion

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup of lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt/to taste

Blend this in a blender for 15-30 seconds

And it’s ready to serve

For the avacado sauce:

2 medium ripe avacados

1/4 cup Greek yogurt or mayo

1 jalapeño

1/4 cup cilantro

1/4 cup lime juice

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken cubes with all the powdered spices, onions and peppers for about 30 minutes

2. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees

3. Turn on your stove to a medium heat and add in the oil. One it’s heated up, add in the chicken and let it sear for about 5 minutes before tossing it around

4. Toss the chicken around and cover the pan until the chicken is cooked all the way thru. This should take about 10-12 minutes depending on how big the pieces of chicken are.

Now it’s time to assemble this party

1. Coat a cookie sheet or any flat tray with a little butter/Oil

2. Assemble 6 tortillas on the tray. Place about 2 tablespoons cheese on one side of the tortilla, followed by the chicken mixture and topping it off with another 2 tbsp of cheese

3. Turn the other side of the tortilla over to close the taco. If you have trouble keeping the taco closed, you can use a toothpick to hold it together. Flour tortillas hold together a little easier than the corn tortillas.

4. Spray the closed tacos with a little bit of cooking spray and placed them in the oven.

5. In about 8-10 minutes, the tacos should start to crisp up and the cheese should start to melt. Keep a close eye on the tacos as different elevations and ovens can effect the timing of this process

6. Take them out of the oven and top it with the salsa and avocado sauce!

Variations:

You can also make the tacos into a quesadilla by following the same steps as you would for the tacos, only instead of folding the tortilla into a taco, you would top the filling with another tortilla as shown below

You can also use an air fryer to crisp up the tacos before topping it up with the sauces

Ask me any questions below!

I hope you enjoy this super flavorful and colorful dish

Xoxo

Joanna