Food Friday

One of my challenges for my Thing-A-Day projects is to try some new things for my blog. In that spirit, today I'm trying out an occasional feature I've named Food Friday. In these postings, I'll feature a recipe and photos of the food and the food prep process. Most of these recipes will be either recipes of my own creation or recipes that feature a particular cooking method that I utilize. First up: grilled quesadillas.

Quesadillas are an amazingly easy food to prepare and this method rewards the cook with plenty of eating joy for some very easy efforts. It's more Tex-Mex than authentic Mexican for those of you who keep track of such things. I consider it California comfort food.

1 package large-size flour tortillas (fresher is better)
3-4 cups grated cheese ---- I use a combination of Colby cheddar and Monterey Jack
1 green pepper, sliced into thin slices
1 yellow onion, sliced into thin slices; separate the rings
fresh chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder (more if you like spicy food)
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix the spices in a small bowl. Chop the onion and pepper and then combine in a bowl; mix the spices in so that the veggies are covered.

Sauté the peppers for 2-3 minutes at medium heat. I use my cast-iron grill pan so that clean-up is easier, but you can use a non-stick of your own. Remove the warm vegetables back to a bowl. Set your veggies and grated cheese by the stove. On a medium heat grill pan, place a flour tortilla and let it heat for 1 minute. Flip the tortilla and heat the other side for 1 minute. Then place a small handful of grated cheese on one half of the tortilla; add ¼ cup of onions & pepper mixture, and a few sprigs of cilantro.
Then fold the tortilla over. Cook on one side for 2-3 minutes and then flip to cook on the other for 2-3 minutes. You want to leave grill marks on the tortilla and melt the cheese so adjust the heat and time accordingly.
Keep cooking quesadillas until you've exhausted your supply of tortillas, cheese and peppers & onions.

Now it's time to eat up. I usually serve these with salsa, refried beans, and some additional chopped cilantro. You can add a red or yellow pepper to the mix or use a red onion instead of yellow. You could add chopped tomatoes to the inside of your quesadilla. You can experiment with cheese as well (queso fresco is good if that's available to you). In short: the world is your tortilla. Enjoy!