Fast Food at Home: Fast Quesadilla Recipe

When you want to make a simple, creative, flavorful dish for your family in 30 minutes or less, try the traditional quesadilla. Created in Mexico, this fun, easy meal will become a favorite in many households. The smell of vegetables, cheese, and chicken are intoxicating. Your family will come running when they smell this meal cooking.

Quesadillas are a meal the whole family can pitch in to make. Adults can cook the quesadillas on the stove or grill while kids can help cut up vegetables. Cooking with your children is a good way to talk, laugh, and enjoy each other's company. Cooking a meal together makes eating it afterwards a more enjoyable experience.

What is a quesadilla? It starts with the Tortilla. Tortillas are a flour based flat dough that serves many purposes. When tortillas are fried and cooled, they become tortilla chips. These chips can be served with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, or mixed into a salad. Quesadillas are filled tortillas that have been grilled until brown. The difference between a quesadilla and a taco, which is also made from a tortilla, is the quesadilla is cheese-based. 'Quesa' is Spanish for 'cheese'. Tacos are usually meat based. Both dishes are a quick and easy way to feed a family, serve as a snack, or to eat when on the run.

You can fill a quesadilla with much more than just cheese. Be as imaginative as you like. You can stuff your quesadilla with plenty of vegetables, chicken, sausage, shrimp, and of course, cheese. Quesadillas are a healthy meal. Filled with vegetables and cooked in Olive oil, quesadillas are a healthy alternative to fast foods like hamburgers, greasy french fries, and chicken strips.

For a quick family meal that is sure to satisfy any appetite, fast quesadillas deliver every time.

To save time, you can buy most of the ingredients below pre-cooked or pre-chopped. But for those who want to make this meal from scratch, the time it will take to prepare is still around 30 minutes.

Good meals do not have to take all day to prepare. You can buy the ingredients on the way home from work and serve dinner in no time. Quesadillas give your family different meal options. No more boring meals. Feed your family a healthy, exciting meal in very little time.

You will need:

10 oz. chicken breast, cubed (you can buy pre-cut chicken)
1-2 Italian mild sausage, sliced
1 small to medium yellow or green pepper (you can buy frozen pepper that is already diced)
3 oz. chopped onion (you can buy frozen chopped onion)
2 cloves minced garlic (dried minced or garlic powder will also work) Fresh garlic will give the quesadilla a more spicy taste, but garlic powder will still give the quesadilla a robust garlic flavor.
12 oz. shredded cheese (mix different cheeses for spicy flavor)
4 flour tortillas (pre-packaged, found in most grocery stores)
3 oz. sparking peach white wine (sparkling peach juice can also be substituted)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This will yield 2 large quesadillas. Double the recipe for 4 large quesadillas.

Pour 2 oz. of olive oil into the bottom of a medium sized frying pan and turn heat up to medium. Add cubed chicken, sausage, and 1 clove of garlic, or ½ teaspoon of garlic powder. Pour in the wine. Brown the meat.

When the chicken and sausage has browned (chicken will be a golden color), strain the liquid using a colander. Put chicken back into the frying pan. Add vegetables and 1 clove of garlic, or ½ teaspoon of garlic powder. Cook on medium heat for 7 minutes or until vegetables are soft, but still a little crunchy.

In a large frying pan, add 2 oz. of olive oil and turn up heat to medium high. Add 1 tortilla and add half of the ingredients from the medium frying pan. Add 6 oz. of cheese. Place second tortilla on top and allow it to cook for 3-5 minutes or until tortilla is a golden brown. Flip the tortilla and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Cut and serve. Garnish with salsa, extra cheese, or sour cream. Another good idea is to create a condiment bar. Put your favorite toppings on the table and let every one decide what they would like to put on top of their quesadilla.

You can add Spanish rice, spinach, corn, or a garden salad to complete this meal. Quesadillas are the prefect summer meal. They can be eaten outside, can be grilled, and make a great alternative to traditional grilling foods. For your next outdoor adventure, think about serving quesadillas with salad.