South of the Boarder: Spinach Goat Cheese Quesadillas and Chili Rubbed Chicken

My friend decided to spoil me by cooking me a three course meal with a "South of the Border" theme. I'm typically the cook, even though I really enjoy it, it was a nice change. The first course was crackers with a cilantro pesto and fresh mango sliver, the second a spinach goat cheese quesadilla, and the meal was finished off with a chili rubbed chicken with a mango & bell pepper pico (chunky sort of salsa).  Make any part of this meal and you will not be disappointing. If you are really inspired I suggest washing it down with some homemade sangria. 

Cilantro Pesto Appetizer

  Pesto:

       1 bunch cilantro

       1/4 cup olive oil

       salt, pepper and minced garlic to taste

To make the pesto, chop the cilantro very fine and mix with other ingredients to taste. More or less olive oil can be used as well as a food processor. 

Serve pesto on crackers or bread of your choice accompanied with sliced mango or pineapple.

Spinach Goat Cheese Quesadillas

Quesadillas:

     1 bunch spinach

     1 4 oz goat cheese

     1 package shredded mozzarella or other meltable cheese of your choice

     2-4 large flour tortillas

     *1 package queso fresco cheese (a dry mexican cheese)

Wash, dice and saute spinach in olive oil. Take one tortilla and crumble goat cheese, spinach and meltable cheese over the tortilla to your liking. Top with other tortilla and heat in frying pan over medium heat (on both sides) till cheese is melted and tortilla is browned. Cut into fours and serve quesadilla slices with fresh salsa and/or guacamole and (*optionally) crumble queso fresco over top.

Chili Rubbed Chicken

   Chicken:

       1 package of chicken breast (roughly 2 lbs) cut into strips

       1/2 cup chili powder

       2 tablespoons brown sugar

       1 teaspoon black pepper

        2 teaspoons cayenne 

Mix chili powder, brown sugar and cayenne together. Rub mixture all over chicken pieces. Allow to stand for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place on baking sheet (one with sides) and bake for 20-40 minutes checking on and turning the chicken every 5 to 10 minutes. 

Mango and Bell Pepper Pico

  Pico:

         1 or 2 fresh mangos (remove the skins)

         1 red bell pepper

         1/2 bunch chopped cilantro

         1 ripe avocado       

         Salt and pepper and lime juice to taste

    

Dice or cube mango, bell pepper and avocado. In a bowl, mix diced ingredients with cilantro, salt, pepper and lime juice to taste.

Serve Mango Pico over Chili Rubbed Chicken and enjoy!