Quick Quesadillas

We love quesadillas. But for some reason, they're rarely on my radar. I just don't think of them when I'm trying to come up with something different for dinner. Funny, 'cause I usually always have the ingredients for them on hand. And you can do just a bazillion things with them. They're a terrific way to use up bits of leftovers and morph them into a completely new and delicious dinner.

I was recently reminded of these little culinary gems when I borrowed my sister's quesadilla maker to take to Bryce's school. I'd made mini quesadillas for his class earlier in the year, and I was asked to bring them to another celebration. Unlike the making of the mini ones which were an activity with the kids, I was bringing them premade. So after making 20 quesadillas I was quite the expert!

While I had the quesadilla maker I decided to have them for dinner a few nights later. Bob is a fool for anything Mexican so he was all over this :-) I had found some awesome tortillas that are made with corn flour (made by Chi Chi's) and used those as well as regular white flour tortillas. I filled them with a Mexican shredded cheese blend and extra sharp cheddar cheese. I had some rotisserie chicken from dinner the night before. I used that along with some chopped green chiles for half of the quesadillas.

To serve with them, I sliced a perfectly ripe avocado (oh be still my beating heart!) and set out dishes of sour cream and chunky salsa. I felt like I still needed a side to go with it. Well, I dug around in the fridge to see what else was there. Hey! I had Chinese the other night and here was a dish of steamed rice. (We eat very multi-ethnic in our house.) I threw it in a pan, warmed it up and added some chopped garlic and shallots, and then plopped in a couple of hefty spoonfuls of salsa. Did someone say "corn"? Okay! I tossed in a handful of frozen corn and stirred that baby up. Salt, pepper and we were good to go. Mexican rice!!!

Next, I opened a cold beer for Bob, poured it into a frosty mug and called it dinner! It actually was delicious!

So when you're looking for a quick, hearty and yummy meal don't forget the unassuming quesadilla. And have fun with it! We did :-)