Pizza Quesadillas

These Pizza Quesadillas were an incredibly simple meal to put together. It's almost not worth writing up a recipe but I had to share it with you all. I made these quesadillas Saturday night, after a long day of swim lessons for Baby Girl, running errands and getting things done around the house. SP was lobbying for us to go out to eat but I really want to save money and knew eating at home would be better for us all. The most time-consuming part of this meal was cutting up the ingredients for the antipasto salad (sans meat and cheese) that I served alongside the quesadillas.


Full disclosure - the pizza sauce is store-bought. I wanted to keep these simple and since I don't have any pizza sauce in my freezer in the summer (I'm not keen on preheating my oven to 550 degrees when it's 90+ outside), I took the easy way out. SP has always wanted to try Don Pepino's pizza sauce so we bought a can. All I can say is wow. No artificial ingredients and less than 5 ingredients total, none of them unpronounceable. Nice.


These are a great, simple dinner or a quick throw-together lunch on a busy weekend. We will definitely be enjoying these again soon.

Pizza Quesadillas
As seen on The Girl Who Ate Everything

6 ounces sliced pepperoni
8 flour tortillas
16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1 small can sliced black olives
1 (16-ounce) jar of pizza sauce
Cooking spray

Place three sheets of paper towels on a plate. Add pepperoni, using a triple layer of paper towels in the middle if necessary. Top with 3 more sheets. Microwave for 1 minute. Check pepperoni and if not crisp, microwave another 30 seconds. Pat off any excess fat with more paper towels.

Brush each tortilla with a thin layer of pizza sauce. Sprinkle 1/8 of the cheese on top of the sauce on the bottom tortilla. Repeat for remaining 3 tortillas. Top with pepperoni and other toppings, if desired. Sprinkle with another 1/8 of the cheese and place the other tortilla on top (sauce side in).

Preheat a medium skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Gently place quesadilla in the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cheese is melted and tortillas are crispy. Slice into quarters and serve with a little bowl of warm pizza sauce for dipping.

Foodbuzz Tastemaker: Cheese Quesadillas

When I was pregnant with Baby Girl we went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants for dinner. As you may know, pregnant woman aren't supposed to eat unpasteurized cheese. Not knowing much about Mexican cheeses, I asked our server what kind of cheese they used in their quesadillas. Imagine my surprise when he said American cheese. Obviously that's not very authentic, but I can see why they do it. American cheese has a nice mild flavor and melts beautifully.

When I was selected for the Kraft Singles Foodbuzz Tastemaker program I knew exactly what I wanted to make - quesadillas. I've been meaning to try American cheese ever since that night at the Mexican restaurant (almost 3 years ago - how is that possible!?) Baby Girl absolutely loves American cheese. She asks for a slice every day when we get home from daycare. And she's never met a carb she doesn't like. Quesadillas are a big hit in our house and something I should make more often, given their versatility and ease.


One of the things I loved about making these quesadillas was how easy they were. No cheese to shred saves time. I was able to make 4 quesadillas in a matter of minutes. They were cheesy and delicious, with a nice, mild flavor. Baby Girl likes hers plain but I had mine with diced tomato, diced avocado and sour cream.


I will absolutely make quesadillas with American cheese again. I love a good plain cheese quesadilla but the possibilities are endless in terms of fillings. A big thanks to Foodbuzz and Kraft for this opportunity. Baby Girl sends her thanks as well because she gets to eat the remaining cheese as an afternoon snack.

Simple Cheese Quesadilla

Cooking spray
4 flour tortillas
4 slices American cheese, such as Kraft Singles

Spray a griddle or large, non-stick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Toast one tortilla on both sides, then lay one slice of cheese, torn into pieces to fit, on half the tortilla. Fold the over half of the tortilla over to cover the cheese. Turn the heat down to low and flip the tortilla as needed to melt the cheese without burning the tortilla. Cut each quesadilla into three wedges. Serve with whatever toppings you like - sour cream, pico de gallo, avocado, lime wedges, etc.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon for free Kraft Singles and a stipend.

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

SP loves any recipe that involves buffalo chicken so when I saw this recipe in the August/September 2011 issue of Cook's Country I immediately put it on the menu.





Not only is it easy to put together, it's got tons of flavor. As expected, SP loved it. I can only handle so much blue cheese and Frank's before the flavors become monotonous. But if you love buffalo chicken you will love this recipe. I added some shredded Mexican cheese because I didn't want the blue cheese to overwhelm everything else.



Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

Modified from Cook's Country August/September 2011



4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1 cup)

1 celery rib, sliced thin

1/4 cup sour cream

2 scallions, sliced thin

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1-inch strips

1/3 cup Frank's hot sauce

4 (10-inch) flour tortillas

Shredded Mexican blend cheese

1 tablespoon vegetable oil



Combine blue cheese, celery, sour cream, and scallions in a bowl. Melt butter in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and hot sauce and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer chicken mixture to a bowl. Using 2 forks, shred chicken into bite-size pieces. Wipe out skillet.



Working one at a time, spread one-quarter of the blue cheese mixture over half a tortilla, leaving 1/2-inch border around the edges. Top with one-quarter of chicken mixture and a handful of shredded cheese. Fold tortilla over filling, pressing firmly.



Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in now empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add two tortillas to the skillet, cooking until brown and crisp on both sides, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to cutting board and repeat with remaining quesadillas. Cut into wedges and serve.

Grilled Chicken & Pineapple Quesadillas

I love quesadillas. They're so versatile. You can put pretty much anything between two tortillas, add some cheese and you've got a delicious and easy dinner.

I never liked pineapple before I was pregnant with Baby Girl, but now I can't get enough of it. Before seeing this recipe for Grilled Chicken & Pineapple Quesadillas, I never would have thought to add it to a quesadilla but you know what, it works. It really works.


I've been thinking about these quesadillas all week and can't wait to make them again. Even SP loved them and he was pretty skeptical about the recipe when he saw it on this week's menu.

I left out the sliced jalapenos because I just can't handle spice the way I used to, but I'm sure they'd make a nice addition to counter the sweetness of the pineapple. Make these tonight! And if you have leftovers, they're even better the next day reheated in the oven.

Grilled Chicken & Pineapple Quesadilla
Pioneer Woman

8 whole Flour Tortillas
Butter Or Margarine
2 cups Grilled Pineapple, Sliced
3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Salt And Pepper, to taste
3 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
1 whole Jalapeno, Sliced
Cilantro
3 Tablespoons Barbecue Sauce

To grill pineapple: cut wedges, stick on skewers, and grill over low heat. Cut into slices.

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and Cajun spice (or cumin/cayenne, etc.) Drizzle olive oil on a grill pan and grill on both sides until done, brushing with barbecue sauce. Set aside and slice into very thin slices.

Warm griddle over medium heat and put sizzling butter or margarine in the pan. Slightly warm and toast tortillas on both sides, then remove from griddle and set aside.

To assemble, sprinkle four browned tortillas with grated Monterey Jack. Arrange chicken slices evenly over the surface. Add pineapple slices and jalapeno slices. Sprinkle on cilantro. If desired, drizzle extra barbecue sauce over the top. Add second browned tortilla on top of each one. (You’ll have four complete quesadillas at this point.)

Add to oven to warm, or back to skillet to warm, until cheese is melted. Cut each quesadilla into six wedges. Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, and lime wedges.

Chicken, Avocado and Tomato Quesadilla

I've been on a quesadilla kick lately. They're so easy to make and I can easily keep the ingredients on hand. I saw this recipe for Chicken, Avocago and Tomato Quesadillas over at Sing for Your Supper and was intrigued by the addition of BBQ sauce. Unfortunately my photo isn't nearly as pretty as her's:


And we couldn't taste the BBQ sauce on the chicken once it was inside the quesadilla. I used my new Griddler to grill the chicken, but maybe the outdoor grill would have been better. But no matter, these will definitely be on the regular rotation.

Caramelized Onion Quesadillas

There's something comforting about a cheesy quesadilla. I rarely make them, but every once in awhile I remember how good they are and put them on the menu. This version included lots of slow-cooked caramelized onions and shredded cheese.


I made guacamole and served the quesadillas with sour cream and salsa.