Chicken Bacon Apple Quesadillas

The fact that I made these quesadillas last fall and am just now getting around to sharing them with you guys is an absolute travesty, for a couple of reasons: 1. The delicious Honeycrisp apples I used in them have long since gone out of season; and 2. These quesadillas are SO DELICIOUS OMG and you all should have been eating them for months now. Shall we agree that I totally suck for not sharing these sooner and move on? Okay then.

Remember the pepper-jack, chicken, and peach quesadillas I made last summer? My whole family absolutely loved those, and they were my inspiration for this version. Why not replace the peaches with apples, and add some bacon just to make them extra delicious? The results of this little experiment were just as tasty as I thought they'd be.

The bacon's salty smokiness pairs perfectly with the sweet, crisp apples. I used a mild cheddar-jack cheese for this version, but all cheddar would also be great if you want a stronger cheese flavor (and all Monterey jack would be great if you want a really mild cheese flavor). If you're feeling really decadent, you could even use Brie. Mmm. And even though you can't get Honeycrisp apples right now, Granny Smiths or even Red Delicious apples would work just fine in this recipe. With some honey-lime sour cream on the side for dipping, this is a quick and easy lunch or dinner that I think you're going to love.

Chicken Bacon Apple Quesadillas

1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/2 cup sour cream
4 8-inch flour tortillas
3/4 cup cheddar-jack cheese
1 cup chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast

4 slices of bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled
1 apple, thinly sliced
Cooking spray

1. Combine honey and lime juice in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Stir sour cream into honey mixture; cover and chill until ready to serve.

2. Place tortillas flat on a work surface. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons cheese over half of each tortilla; top each tortilla with 1/4 cup chicken, the equivalent of 1 slice of crumbled bacon, and a quarter of the apple slices. Fold tortillas in half.

3. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Place 2 quesadillas in the pan. Cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until tortillas are crisp and lightly browned. Remove quesadillas from pan; set aside, and keep warm. Repeat procedure with the remaining quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into wedges. Serve with sauce.