Chicken & Roasted Yam Quesadilla

This is another great dish made from leftovers and pantry staples. I roast a chicken once every few weeks and/or we buy a roasted chicken from the grocery store. Either way we usually only eat the chicken as is for one meal, more often than not leaving us with leftovers. Sometimes the boy will make a sandwich with what's left, or I'll make chicken salad but very often I like to try to get creative with the leftover chicken. It's not only packed full of great roasted flavor, but it also makes for a quick and easy meal during the week.

It's no secret I love Mexican food, so we will often have tortillas around. While whole wheat tortillas aren't exactly authentic especially not the ones our grocery store has, they are a staple. Along with a recent find of a great fresh salsa that has awesome fresh flavor and is great on chips or eggs or just about anything. So on yet another week when Mama Earth sent us organic yams, I took what we had on hand and threw together this tasty quesadilla.

Chicken & Roasted Yam Quesadillas
serves 4

2 organic yams - sliced into 1/4" rounds
2 Tbsp or more extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
2 chicken breasts - great use of leftovers.
8 whole wheat tortillas
3 cups finely grated aged white cheddar or smoked cheddar
3/4 cup fresh salsa - bought from the produce section of the grocery store
cooking spray
sour cream (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Toss yam rounds in olive oil, salt & pepper and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Roast for 20-30 minutes until tender and golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside. Lower oven heat to 350F.
2. If you are using leftover, already cooked chicken skip to step 3. If you are using uncooked chicken breasts, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle salt & pepper all over chicken. Place in heated skillet and cook for 10-15 minutes, turning every five minutes until chicken is cooked.
3. Shred cooked chicken and return to skillet with salsa. Let simmer over low heat until everything is heated and you are ready to use it.
4. Spray a small skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Place one tortilla in skillet and heat until lightly golden on each side. Stored warmed tortillas in a clean towel to keep warm and continue warming the other tortillas.
5. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place two heated tortillas on the prepared sheet. layer shredded cheese, a single layer of yams, a single layer of chicken, more cheese and finally a second tortilla. Place cookie sheet in the oven for 10 minutes, until the cheese melts and the entire thing is heated all the way through. Remove from oven and place a second cookie sheet with two more assembled quesadillas into the oven.
6. Let quesadilla rest for 5 minutes before cutting into quarters and serving with sour cream.


I don't think the boy was sold on this one until he tried it. He is forever being subjected to my combining savoury and sweet and the oven roasted yams have a great sweetness that he wasn't convinced would be good in a quesadilla. I happily showed him the way and on this deliciously savoury with a hint of sweet quesadilla that now make regular appearances at dinner.