Lent Good Friday Meatless Meal

I'm not a big fan of gimmicky kitchen appliances but one that has been well worth the $30 we spent on it is our Santa Fe Quesadilla maker. You don't need the appliance, you can make quesadillas either in the microwave (not recommend by this blogger) or on the stovetop. We went through a phase where I would make quesadillas once a week for an easy weeknight dinner, and we have experimented with such concoctions as pizza quesadillas, ham & cheese, even peanut butter and jelly! This recipe could be a nice lighter dinner on Good Friday when you're trying to fast but also want to feed the kids something substantial.


Quesadillas

Ingredients:
Large flour tortillas
Grated cheese - either mild or sharp cheddar, or Monterey Jack
Olive oil or grapeseed oil

Optional:
Sliced mushrooms
Green onions
Black olives, sliced
Fresh tomatoes, diced
Chicken pieces (not on Good Friday, obviously)
Avocado

Directions:

Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. Add a small amount of oil (about 1/2 teaspoon) and spread it around the bottom of the pan with a spatula (you could use butter as well). Take one large flour tortilla and place it in the pan. Flip the tortilla over a few times, 10 seconds between flips. Air pockets should begin to form within the tortilla.

When pockets of air begin to form, take a handful of grated cheese, sprinkle over the top of the tortilla, making sure that the cheese does not land on the pan itself. Add whatever additional ingredients you choose - green onion, sliced mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, etc. If you would like your quesadilla to be a chicken quesadilla, add some diced cooked chicken. Take care not to layer on the ingredients to thickly.

Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. The pan should be hot enough by now to have plenty of residual heat to melt the cheese and brown the tortilla. If the quesadilla begins to smoke too much, remove from the heat. After a minute, check to see if the cheese is melted. If not, return the cover and keep checking every minute until the cheese is melted. When the cheese is sufficiently melted, use a spatula to lift up one side of the quesadilla and flip over the other side, as if you were making an omelet. The tortilla should by now be browned slightly. If it is not browned, turn the heat up to high and flip the quesadilla over every 10 seconds or so until it gets browned. Remove from pan and cut into wedges.