Jennifer’s Quesadillas.

I finally came up with a recipe all on my own!  And what’s funny is that it probably came out a bit differently than I expected because of a cold I have coming on.  Bet you’re wondering what my cold has to do with anything.  Read on, friend.

I have eaten salmon, tilapia, and chicken for four months straight and was craving some MEXICAN food.  If I were to go to my favorite “chips-and-salsa” restaurant I’d eat about 1000 calories in chips, dip, cheese, tortillas, and such, so I decided that the best thing to do was make a Mexican dish at home.

As I was seasoning the beef (oh, beautiful beef) for the quesadillas I would taste it every few minutes to see if it was close.  I kept finding myself unsatisfied and wondering why my food tasted so bland.  I wondered if Jamie Oliver is right… the meat we’re being served is from cows hopped up on antibiotics then shot up with “flavorings.”  Maybe.  I’m not ready to go all organic but as I kept tasting the meat I was wondering if that’s where I was heading.

Turns out I was getting a cold and today I can’t taste or smell much, so maybe our cows are just fine.  But those quesadillas had some serious flavor and Matt LOVED them.  I think he felt it was one of my best meals yet!  (The boys thought it was a bit spicy.  Oops.)

I don’t have a picture just yet, but if I remember when I make these again, I’ll add one.

To feed six people and have some leftover for a fantastic lunch the next day:

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs beef top round (stir fry)
• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 2 small red onions
• 2 small cans mushrooms (or fresh… whatever you have)
• spinach tortillas
• cheese
• sour cream

Seasonings:

• I started with a homemade version of Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning (about 2T).

I then added in the rest of the seasonings to taste, and so the measurements I’m writing beside them are, at best, a guess.

• 1T oregano
• 1T garlic powder
• 1-2t salt
• 1t pepper
• 1t cumin

Directions:

1. Cook meat and veggies in a little vegetable oil on medium-high heat.
2. Add seasoning while cooking, to taste.
3. When the meat tastes just right, add 1/4-1/2 cup of water and put the lid on the skillet.
4. Let it sizzle, stirring often, letting the veggies continue to cook and the seasonings get into the meat.
5. Preheat a frying pan and put butter on a spinach tortilla.  Put the tortilla in the pan, add meat and cheese, topping with a second tortilla.  (I made mine with only one tortilla, folded in half.)
6. When the bottom has started to brown slightly, flip over.
7. Brown on that side and serve.

Use a pizza roller to slice the tortilla into finger foods, like the restaurants do.  Matt loved these and said they were as good as the ones he gets from Chili’s.  That, my friend, is success.

Option:  If you want to throw these into the “absolutely best” category of quesadillas, slice half an avocado and add on top of the meat and cheese before adding the second tortilla.