Tequila Chicken Quesadillas

Another awesome Father’s Day has come and gone. And when I say awesome, it was perfect. Not because we did anything particularly exciting, but because it was another day with the most important people in my life, my wife and sons. And our first Father’s Day with our new little guy, Connor. A fun baseball practice in the morning followed by a day at the pool and a nice family dinner, my idea of awesome. After dealing with some major health issues the last couple of years and finally starting to feel like myself again, I never take a minute for granted and feel so incredibly blessed to be a dad.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you know I get on a roll with certain things. Mexican food, popsicles, stuffed food, etc. So last week, I made some Tropical Tequila Sunrise Popsicles and figured these Tequila Chicken Quesadillas would be the perfect meal to eat prior to a couple of those popsicles (the popsicles for adults of course). And they were a perfect pre-cursor to the popsicles! Seriously, my boys could eat quesadillas all day long if they could, but the way they like them is soooo boring to me, so I rarely make them, unless I’m in a total jam or time crunch. Seriously, 2 tortillas and a slice of american cheese, microwaved? Yuck.

And since I was in the mood for a good (real) quesadilla myself, I took it up a notch by making a tequila marinade and then added some fresh mangos. The mangos helped break up the flavors and gave the quesadillas a lighter, refreshing, summer-y bite, which provided a really nice contrast against the main ingredients. And don’t worry, even with the tequila, these are still kid-friendly. At high heat, the tequila burns off in the oven but really helps tenderize the chicken. But if you are concerned, go ahead and leave the tequila out, the marinade is still very good without it.

Tomorrow, I am at it again, doing the best that I can to be a good dad to my boys, leading by example, showing them and Naomi how much they are loved by me, and helping them be true to themselves and good friends to eachother and others in their lives. I am far from perfect when it comes to being a dad, but there’s nothing better in life to me and I give thanks for my blessings and pray for guidance every day. Thanks John Wooden! And in between all of that, a good family meal or treat never hurts.

On a side note, for those that are readers here and at Naomi’s blog, yes these photos were styled by her and shot by me. That’s the perk of being married to a seasoned blogger and food photographer—help is just a holler away. Trust me when I say, styling quesadillas are bit challenging to a novice blogger like me.