Musical pairing – Pink Houses by John Mellencamp
We enjoy a good Mexican dish as much as the next person and, having lived several years in Arizona and having a Hispanic sister-in-law, I think it’s safe to say, I’ve had some pretty stellar Mexican food; so when TortillaLand asked if I’d like to try their uncooked flour tortillas, I must admit I was a bit skeptical . . . and curious. In fact, I’d never heard of uncooked tortillas (unless you make them yourself, which I have not ) – just corn or flour tortillas on my grocery store shelf and obviously those have been cooked.
One of the first recipes I made were the enchiladas for our Memorial Day family gathering – the original recipe called for corn tortillas but I prefer enchiladas made with flour tortillas – perfect! I’ve also made breakfast burritos with scrambled eggs, fresh salsa, a slice of avocado; roll into burrito and you’re done – better than any drive-thru . . . and we may, or may not, have stuffed a warm tortilla with a scoop of ice cream . . . sigh. TortillaLand makes their tortillas with five ingredients: wheat flour, water, canola oil, salt and sugar – all good stuff and non of the bad. If they’re available near you, I recommend you keep a package or two on hand . . . it’s quite easy to eat them warm, straight out of the pan!
One of my favorite dishes is my own take on a quesadilla – filled with simple vegetables like zucchini, onion and peppers, spicy cheese, serve with a dollop of chipotle cream and a few slices of good-for-you avocado; add a few pieces of chopped tomatoes and you can have lunch or dinner on the table in less than 10 minutes . . .
You know . . . with the 4th of July holiday coming up, why not cook up a stack of these to serve as appetizers for that party – switch up the veg, add a bit of chicken if you want a protein, spice up the chipotle cream and make your own signature quesadilla . . . pour yourself a cold one, crank up some Mellencamp, light a sparkler or two . . . then head out to a local fireworks show . . . and be sure to thank our military men and women for their sacrifice and service!
Here’s the Smith Bites riff . . .
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VEGETARIAN QUESADILLAS WITH CHIPOTLE CREAM
Makes 2
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 TortillaLand Flour tortillas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise then sliced into ½-inch pieces
- ½ yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 3 jarred roasted peppers, drained of juice (I used piccio because that’s what I had)
- 4 slices pepper-jack cheese, each piece cut into fourths (can use shredded too)
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced
- 4 grape tomatoes, sliced into quarters
- 1 dollop of Chipotle Cream (recipe follows)
- cilantro for garnish
- salt/pepper
METHOD:
- In a non-stick skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil; add onions, season with a pinch of salt/pepper and sauté for about 2-3 minutes until onions begin to soften
- Add zucchini and continue to sauté for anther 3-4 minutes or until zucchini is crisp-tender (not mushy); season with another pinch of salt/pepper. Add jarred roasted peppers, torn into long pieces (approximately 1/8-cup, more or less depending upon what you like); stir together and turn off heat; set aside.
- Dry pan: heat tortillas for about 30 seconds on each side prior to filling with vegetables
- Place one tortilla in dry pan over medium-low heat; place 4 pieces of cheese on top of warm tortilla; add half of the vegetable mixture on top of first layer of cheese. Add second layer of cheese on top of vegetables; place second tortilla on top and press gently.
- Continue to heat until bottom layer of cheese begins to melt; flip the quesadilla over and repeat.
- The whole process should take about 5 minutes
TO SERVE:
Cool quesadilla 3-5 minutes, cut into wedges; serve with slices of fresh avocado, chipotle cream, tomatoes and cilantro.
CHIPOTLE CREAM
INGREDIENTS:
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped chipotle in adobo sauce (include adobo as well)
METHOD:
- Mix together and serve – it’s really that simple!
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I will definitely make it for my family! Thank you:O)
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Oh, yum, yum, yum! I love quesadillas – although we have had to create a vegan version. I love the veggies you’ve added – what a great touch. They look delicious!
Want to know why I love uncooked tortillas?!
Because I can throw lots of butter on the skillet and cook it up my way!!!! Then I’d HAVE to stuff it with vegetables to keep the calories in check.
Mr. RGBistro and I are trying to eat less meat these days… so we’re making a really big, long list of “vegetarian recipes” we can go to when it’s our turn to cook.
Adding this one!
[K]
I have always put the tortillas in a dry skillet to cook…never butter…I will need to try and see what happens with butter in the pan.
I’ve never heard of uncooked flour tortillas before either, but I bet they are more tender than the cooked variety. These vegetarian quesadillas are making my mouth water – gorgeous!
They are so light and yummy…try them and you will never by another kind of torilla….seriously!
I’m headed your way for lunch! Yum, yum and one more…yum!!
Love the photo showing the cheese oozing out! This is a great veggie quesadilla, Debra. Aren’t you lucky to have a Hispanic SIL! I bet she gives you some wonderful recipes.
Never thought to lighten up the chipotle with some sour cream. Love that idea.
looks delicious, especially that chipotle cream.
Debra, that just how I like’em! The chipotle cream sounds wonderful.
I could eat this for dinner every night!
We are all about anything southwestern around here! Looks fabulous, can’t wait to whip me up some of that chipotle cream!
These look amazing… I wish I could have them for dinner! Love the addition of the chipotle cream!
You had me at Chipotle Cream. 😉
Quesadillas are perfect clean out the fridge food. They can handle any sort of riff. Love this one too. GREG
Oh these look amazing and the chipolte cream sounds tasty!! I love avocado. My low carb experiment has gotten me into more and more veggies…I am so new to zucchini. It’s amazing how much better everything tastes when I’m not filling up with grains (even healthy ones). I’m stumbling this 🙂
Any riff on a quesadilla is a winner in my world! Perfect summer dinner…………
I should really stop looking at this at work – it’s making me so hungry! I’m going to have to try this some time soon 🙂
We make quesadillas a lot in our house. I’m definitely going to have to try sour cream that way though. Your pictures made me hungry. 🙂
Ditto. ->Swoon!<-
Ooo, chipotle cream! Those quesadillas look so melty and delicious.
These look great, Deb. Is it wrong that the carnivore in me wants to add some smoked brisket?
You had me at chipotle cream.