Just like Taco Bell : Quick & Easy Quesadillas that Taste like Takeout

Taco Bell quesadillas are delicious. I know it, you know it, the world knows it. But in all my online searches, I could never, ever find a recipe that seemed to emulate what you can easily buy at any Taco Bell drive-thru. Could it be that their recipe secrets were just too complex for a layperson to duplicate? I searched every recipe site I could find, but all the recipes, though diverse, had the same basic flaw: no delicious creamy spicy sauce. How do they do it?

I have discovered their secret.

It's sour cream and taco seasoning.

That's it!

So, now, for a proper recipe. I make chicken quesadillas mostly for budgeting reasons, but it would be simple enough to replace the chicken with strips of beef in this recipe.

YOU WILL NEED

About 2 medium-sized chicken breasts, cut into strips (kitchen scissors work well for this)
8 large tortillas
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 packet taco seasoning
Cheddar cheese - I slice this as I go, and I typically use about six thin slices per quesadilla
Butter
2 hungry people

First, fry up the chicken in a pan with oil until it's slightly browned. This shouldn't take more than ten or fifteen minutes. You can add a few mild seasonings here, like salt, pepper, or even lemon pepper (my personal favorite). You might want to try experimenting with chili powder or cayenne pepper if you love Mexican food. To be extra thrifty with your pans, use one that's big enough to hold a tortilla. Once the chicken is done, set it aside to cool a bit.

Now, mix up your sauce. Generally 1/2 cup of sour cream with 1/2 packet of taco seasoning is enough to make 4 quesadillas, which is what we're aiming for. Mix it up well, then get out your tortillas and prepare to fry.

You can either butter the pan, or butter the tortillas. I find that buttering the pan makes the first tortilla soak up all the butter, then the rest of them are dry. If you're buttering the tortillas, butter one first, then set it aside, then assemble the quesadilla as follows:

a few spoonfuls of sauce, spread evenly
about 1/4 of the chicken
six or seven slices of cheese

Top with the buttered tortilla and put it, butter-side down, in a hot pan. Butter the other side while you wait. Flip after a minute or so, or whenever the downside turns brown.

Repeat. Stack them all on a large plate, then use a pizza wheel to cut them into fourths.

Enjoy!

FUN FACT: Queso means "cheese" in Spanish.