Broke Food - Quesadillas

It's down to the wire, payday's tomorrow, and you surf the fridge looking for something to eat.  The pickings might be slim.  Except.... you have a tortilla, some cheese, and a tiny package of leftover salsa from a fast food drive-through.  That's all you need!  You have all the ingredients for a quesadilla! 

I like the fold-over quesadilla method, but some like to make their quesadillas with two tortillas.  Since this is broke food (i.e., cheap, yummy, filling, and made from what you have on hand), we'll go with whatever you have in your fridge and cupboard.  Here is what I had, but see the recipe below to make a basic quesadilla: 

Basic Cheese Quesadilla

Ingredients:

Tortillas (flour or corn; both work fine, but I prefer flour)

Shredded cheese or cheese slices, any kind

Butter, oil, Pam, or nonstick surface frying pan 

Whatever condiments you have in your fridge

Place butter or oil in a frying pan and allow to heat.  Make sure the surface of the frying pan is covered with the fat of choice. (If you're using a nonstick pan, skip this step, but I do prefer some type of fat to help the quesadilla brown on the outside.)  Place tortilla in the pan and allow it to heat well for about a minute.  Place cheese on 1/2 of the tortilla and allow to heat for a minute or two more.  Fold the tortilla over the cheese and press down gently with a spatula so that the tortilla touches the cheese and the cheese smooshes.  Allow to heat through for another second or two, and then remove the quesadilla to a plate. 

Slice into triangles and serve with any extra condiments you have in your fridge. I hoard salsa and sauce packets from fast food restaurants.  The salsa served with this was from my son's order from Taco Bueno 2 days ago, but I also have a love affair with Taco Bell's Fire Sauce. (Restaurants around here have a taco fixation, apparently, because we also have a Taco Mayo!)

If you have any extra proteins or veggies, you can add those to the quesadilla.  Ideas include: 

• Leftover shredded chicken or beef
• Cut up green onions or diced onions
• Diced/sliced green peppers
• Jalapenos
• Diced bits of deli meat, such as chicken, turkey, or ham
• Olives 
• Guacamole (for a dip, or add it with the cheese if you don't mind it heated up)
• Refried beans 

These are easy to whip out, and they're filling.  This was always what my grandmother made for me if I went to her house after school because it was easy for her to fix, and they were yummy!

Using what you have on hand can also make for some interesting combinations and use up small bits of leftovers that may be languishing in the fridge.  Put them with a little cheese, tortilla, and heat, then enjoy!