Recipe Swap: Tropical Chicken Quesadillas with Pineapple-Avocado Salsa

I'm so sorry this is late; I've been struggling with the dates all week.  Who walks around thinking Friday is Wednesday????

Anyway, this week for the Recipe Swap I was given the blog of our hostess, Sarah!  She gave me her recipe for Tropical Chicken Quesadillas with Pineapple-Avocado Salsa , which sounded delightfully tropical for the lovely spring weather we've been having here in NJ.  She modified a recipe that called for mango salsa with pineapple, which I happen to have on hand pretty much always, and I pretty much always have it spoil before I get around to cutting up the pineapple.

This was so good!  My husband loved it, my sons loved it, and I thought it was delicious too.  I never would have thought of mixing pineapple with avocado, but it made a fresh and delicious salsa to go along with the quesadilla.  The flavors were decidedly best when you had a little bit of everything on your fork.


Tropical Chicken Quesadillas with Pineapple-Avocado Salsa
Adapted from Apple a Day via Taste of Home Cooking

For the salsa:
1 1/2 cups diced pineapple, cut into bite sized pieces
Enough pineapple juice to cover the chicken
1/2 avocado, peeled and diced
1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup thinly sliceed red onion
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the quesadillas:
2 boneless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground ginger powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoons crushed dried rosemary
2 teaspoons oil, divided
1 onion, thinly sliced
8 medium/soft taco size tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican or cheddar cheese
Cooking spray

To make the salsa, combine all ingredients in a nonreactive bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Marinate the chicken breasts in the pineapple juice for at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours.

Combine the brown sugar through dried rosemary in a bowl. Mix well. Remove the chicken from the pineapple juice and sprinkle the dry rub on the chicken breasts, coating evenly.

Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 350 degrees. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet. Sauté chicken until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with tinfoil and put in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Set aside to cool slightly, about 3 minutes. Cut into a small dice or shred.

While the chicken is cooking, heat the other teaspoon of oil in a nonstick skillet. Add the onions and saute until caramelized and brown, about 15 minutes.

Lay out four tortillas and assemble quesadillas in this order - cheese, onion, chicken, cheese. Top with remaining tortillas.

Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Lay quesadilla in the skillet and let cook until the bottom of the tortilla is golden and crispy. Flip and let cook until the other side is also golden and crispy and the cheese is melted. Repeat cooking process with remaining quesadillas. Serve immediately with salsa.