Savory Sundays: shredded chicken quesadillas

I've become a fan of poaching chicken. Before I thought I was scared by this technique but I was just unaware of how it really worked. In general, cooking chicken has always been a bit of a challenge because I'm always a bit worried that it will be pink on the inside. Poaching it, though, pretty much takes all the struggles of checking the chicken out of your hands. Just boil it, let it simmer, take the pot off the heat and let it sit in the water for at least 30 minutes. It's really that simple.

Here's my favorite way to poach chicken. I found this recipe online somehow, just randomly really.

* 3 to 4 chicken breast halves, with bone and skin (about 3 pounds)
* 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
* 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
* 2 bay leaves
* Pinch of dried thyme
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 (14.5-ounce) can low sodium chicken broth

And here's what all that looks like in a saucepan.

Now, I don't buy canned chicken broth. I buy the boullion and make my own so I add about two cups instead. This time, I doubled the recipe and used four cups worth of water that I made into chicken broth. I use boneless, skinless breasts so the bone-in one probably would have a bit more flavor but this has quite a bit of flavor as is. Here's half of them shredded up ready to go.

Now, my favorite thing to do with these is to make quesadillas out of them. Here's what I do. First I shred up some Monterey Jack cheese.


Then, I heat flour tortillas and put some cheese in it, followed by chicken, red onion, cilantro, sea salt, pepper and then some more cheese.


Then, I fold the tortilla in half, put it in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes or so. They come out looking good and tasting great.