Party Food: Mini Chicken Quesadillas & Cinnamon Sugar Chips

Time for party food that everyone loves! My oldest son challenged me to make Chicken Quesadillas to fit in his Mason Jar for lunch. He suggested that I cut them to the size of the jar. In taking him up on this challenge, I came up with this great little party treat that are perfectly spiced, hold together as a nice little finger food, and freeze well for make-ahead party planning. I also solved the problem of those pesky scraps of tortillas by turning them into delicious (and very addictive) Cinnamon Sugar Chips. Salty/Sweet all in one recipe. Challenge completed. Challenge won.

By stacking your tortillas like this, you can get 50 mini tortilla rounds. The scraps look like moons and stars. No?

We almost ate the Cinnamon Sugar Chips faster than the Quesadillas. Dangerous little things.

Here enters the Mason Jar Meals. I stacked three quesadillas in 8 ounce wide mouth Masons for snacks, and five in half pint jars for lunch sized portions. Also a nice jar of Cinnamon Sugar Chips were a very welcomed treat in their lunches. I stored the jars of Quesadillas in the refrigerator, and the jars of chips on the counter.

Mini Quesadillas
10 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
4 ounce cream cheese
1 1/2 cups Mexican blend cheese, like cheddar jack
1 tsp. chipotle powder
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped fine

3 T. melted butter
Kosher salt for sprinkling

Cinnamon Sugar- (2 T. sugar with 1 tsp. cinnamon)

Stack the tortillas and using a 2.75 inch biscuit cutter, cut five stacks of disks to equal 50 total rounds. Mix the cream cheese, Mexi cheese, chipotle, and peppers until smooth and fold in chicken. Brush 25 disks lightly with melted butter and place butter side down on a large cookie sheet. Top with about 1 1/2 T each of chicken mixture, top with remaining tortilla rounds and brush lightly with butter. Sprinkle tops with a little Kosher salt and bake for 15 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Quesadillas will be golden but still soft. Remove to serving tray and serve with sour cream, salsa, or guacamole. Makes 25 rounds. Now leave that oven on and make your chips!

For Cinnamon Sugar Chips
While your quesadillas are in the oven, break up the remains of the flour tortilla bits and toss with remaining melted butter in a large bowl- you should have about 1.5 tablespoons of butter left. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture and toss until all the tortilla bits are coated. Spread over a parchment lined cookie sheet. Once your quesadillas come out of the oven, pop these in and bake for about 10-11 minutes, flipping in 3 minute increments until the chips are golden, and crispy- watch closely as they like to burn on the edges of the pan. Pour into a bowl and sprinkle with a bit of powdered sugar if you like and serve immediately. About 60 chips.

Freezer Suggestion- You can make the Quesadillas up ahead of time by assembling them minus the butter. Store in and airtight container in the freezer until ready to use. Place tortilla scraps in a ziptop freezer bag, layered between waxed paper and freeze. Remove from freezer when ready to use. Let thaw at room temp for about 30 minutes. Melt 3 T. of butter and brush both sides of the quesadillas with the butter, place on cookie sheet and sprinkle with Kosher salt. Bake as directed above. Follow the above instructions for the chips. There you go! Instant party from your freezer. I can also bake these Quesadillas ahead, place in Mason Jars, and freeze for my kids lunches. Baked chips will not freeze well.

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