Quick Quesadilla

Uff. It wasn’t even 9:30 a.m. when I set off my fire alarm today. You know when you see something about to happen but can’t stop it? I was making my mother’s thin Swedish pancakes when I could tell that my stovetop fan was about to fail…Luckily two of my roommates were already awake, and God bless my 4th roommate who came out of the room with her jacket on. “It’s the whole building!” Nope, not a fire-drill … just a Thursday morning failure! I was pretty embarrassed honestly (hey! these are hard pancakes to make!) but one of my roommates made me feel better: “Hey, at least now it feels really nice in here with all the windows open.” Nothing like pancakes burnt pancakes to offer some fresh air to the apartment.

Sometimes you screw up, even multiple times (R.I.P. 3 burnt pancakes)…but sometimes, you don’t. Things go how you expect and look pretty and taste good and fill you up. Simple quesadillas are an example of how simple, tasty ideas can go right. Now, in college there are levels of eating: cooking for yourself, using your microwave for meals (mac n cheese, Lean Cuisine, popcorn), using the caf, and ordering in. Now, don’t get me wrong: I don’t want to say you ever NEED crab rangoons…but it comes close to that. So ordering in or getting over-priced food from the caf is necessary. But it gets expensive, especially since most college students don’t have cars and/or are too lazy to drive to pick up food. Also, the $6 you pay for the quesadilla at your campus center is waaaaay too much considering you can spend that money and get the tortiallas and cheese for at least 3/4 homemade plain cheese quesadillas. Cooking at home is often much more cost-effective (not to mention, personally satisfying).

Making a quesadilla is pretty simple, quick, and filling. You can add whatever your heart desires…peppers, onions, anchovies.

Quick and tasty meal, easy enough for a college kid

I kid you not: this is a filling meal that requires minimal skills. Do you have a skillet, frying pan, or wok of some kind? Tortilla? Cheese? A little smidge of butter or oil? Good to go. Wanna get fancy? Grab a knife and veggies.

To make one filling quesadilla, you’ll need:

• A frying pan/skillet/wok
• A little bit of butter or oil (just enough so that the tortilla doesn’t get stuck)
• Grated or shredded cheese: you could get a block of something like cheddar or monterey jack and shred it yourself, or, as my lazy self prefers, just get a bag of shredded cheese. I use the Mexican blend variety…it’s got cheddar, monterey jack, and a few others)
• Large (8-10 in. usually) tortillas (a single one is actually quite filling, especially if loaded with veggies/meat/beans!)
• Optional: onions, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, beans, shredded beef or chicken…etc. etc. Possibilities are endless, really.

To assemble the quesadilla:

Prep: If you are adding ingredients beyond the shredded cheese (veggies, meats), get that ready first. It pays to be prepared. If you like, sauté veggies beforehand for the filling. It’s not necessary, I love cooked onions and peppers in a quesadilla. However, this is really personal preference; if you like raw, keep it raw.

1. In a large frying pan or skillet, heat a little oil over medium-high heat. Use enough so that the pan gets coated well, but not so much that the tortilla will get overly oily and greasy.
2. Place 1 tortilla in the hot pan. Using a fork or tongs and good judgment, flip the tortilla every 10-20 seconds. You want the tortilla to get a little golden-brownish and toasty; you’ll notice air bubbles forming in the tortilla. Don’t worry —you’re doin’ it right!
3. Once you notice the air pockets, begin adding the cheese to be melted. Again, it’s up to you how much cheese you wish to use; I use somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 of a cup. (If you are adding more fillings, keep in mind that you have to close the tortilla, so you don’t want it to be too stuffed). Make sure the cheese is evenly distributed.
4. As the cheese starts to melt, add any other fillings you have.
5. Use a fork or whatever utensil seems workable, fold the tortilla in half. I like to give it a good push with the back of the fork so that it really sticks together.
6. Turn off the stove, slide your quesadilla onto a plate, and cut it into a few nice slices. Eat and enjoy with some salsa or sour cream. 

Not so hard but packed with lots of flavor and nutrients. Hooray! I made my own spicy chickpea sauce for dipping, but I’ll save that for another day!

Four slices, a full meal

<3 katie kate