Veggie Quesadilla

Hello Hello !! How are things going at your end? Here, Spring and summer has taken on in full swing with mild showers now and then, so we're trying to enjoy every bit of sunshine as much as possible. Our entire weekends are pre-planned and pre-booked with parties or outings and it's come to a point where I would like a weekend after the weekend :-) And I've also been busy making few more theme based cakes for my friend's kids b'days and other events...can't wait to share it all with you here.

With weekends being busy there's not much time left for cooking on certain days so quesadillas have become a quick fix meal of late. Quesadilla is a Mexican dish made using flour or corn tortilla filled with any savory filling and some cheese and cooked until the cheese melts and the tortilla turns crispy on the outside.
The filling can be anything of choice like chicken, beef, pork, fish,egg, black beans, all kinds of veggies etc along with some cheese. Taco seasonings or chilli paste can be used to flavor the quesadilla. It can be eaten with salsa, guacamole, sour cream or even with just plain ketchup!

Last year around this time, along with some of our close friends and my parents (who were here last summer) we had gone for a weekend trip to Wisconsin Dells. The occassion was mainly to celebrate Avyay, my lil'Appu's best pal's 2nd b'day....I had made this Funfetti Cake for the same.
Avyay's parents had rented a lovely wooden cabin near to a water park. The plan was to spend the weekend in the cabin and to enjoy the water-park for which we had a one-day pass. Some of our friends are pure vegetarians so we decided to keep the food vegetarian and had packed up all kinds of veggie food and boy was there a plethora of items. All of us being foodies in our own ways, we cooked up some gigantic breakfasts and had some awesome dinner meals. From grilled sandwiches, to scrambled eggs, veg biriyani to cream n veggie filled sandwiches, haldiram snacks to plenty of fruits, juice, tea/coffee, we ate n drank to our hearts content! Here are a few pics to show the variety and it was simply lip-smacking good. And my mom n dad were ever ready to taste everything :-)

Now on the day after having spent an entire day at the water park, everyone was too tired to even think of making dinner, when one of our friend, Nirmal, came with this quick fix veggie quesadilla. He made them using spinach Tortillas, a can of refried beans paste and some veggies and cheese and it was so good that everyone was too busy eating and yet too tired to think of taking a snap to remember the yummy meal ! So I told him that I'll make it again for sure and take snaps :)

So a few weeks later after coming home I decided to try the quesadilla at home myself. My dad was also there to help me with the making. He had also loved the veggie quesadilla that Nirmal made and wanted to try some more. Have I told you how much a foodie my dad is. He loves to cook and loves to eat and being diabetic he eats very moderately but never ceases to enjoy a good meal. I totally miss him and my mom this summer and I'm waiting for the next time they'll come to visit us :-) Oh! and along with the quesadilla we also had some grilled corn and grilled tandoori chicken....mmm, that was one yummy lunch from last summer.

This Veggie Quesadilla is totally worth making. I have made it several times, even when I've invited guests over for dinner. It's filling, healthy and so easy to make. It's best served hot when its still crispy on the outside and the cheese is soft and melted. The veggies are placed raw in the filling and they become ever so mildly soft yet still retaining their crunch after cooking the quesadilla. I'm forever thankful to our friend Nirmal for this awesome recipe and trust me, I just ate one for dinner today as I type this post.

Veggie Quesadilla
Serves 4 to 6 

You'll Need
Tortilla (flour or corn or spinach tortillas) - 6 or 8 **
Can of Refried beans (I used Old el paso brand)
Veggies: Red/Green bell pepper, Red Onions - thinly sliced , a cup each
Taco seasoning mix
Shredded Mozerella Cheese - 1 cup
Shredded Cheddar Cheese - 1 cup
Salt, Pepper - to taste
Maagi Hot n Sour Tomato ketchup (optional)

Directions
1. Prep all the ingredients and keep it ready. Place the tortilla on a clean and dry plate or board.
2. Spread out a generous tablespoon(s) of refried bean paste over the tortilla. On top of this place the sliced veggies as much as preferred.
3. Sprinkle on top with taco seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the shredded mozerella and cheddar cheese over the veggies.
5. If you prefer some spice add a few drops of Maagi Hot n Sour tomato ketchup on top of the cheese. I sometimes even use Chilli-Garlic sauce. (this is optional, but even a little bit adds a burst of flavor)
6. Place another tortilla over the top. Heat a flat non-stick skillet or cast iron girdle and place the quesadilla on the pan. Cook until it browns on one side. Flip and cook until the other side also browns well and the cheese has melted.
7. Cut into quarter sized wedges, by cutting the quesadilla in half and then again in half using a pizza cutter or sharp knife and enjoy it warm with salsa, guacamole and sour cream or just ketchup.

** 6 Tortillas will make 3 full round Quesadillas which will give 12 quarter wedges
     8 Tortillas will make 4 full round Quesadillas which will give 16 quarter wedges 

Suggestions:
1. It might be easier to make the quesadilla using one tortilla where all the filling is added to one half of the tortilla and folded over in half moon shape and cooked on skillet.
2. If you like, you can spread the refried beans paste on both tortillas and add more cheese.

Daddy enjoyed slicing the quesadilla into quarters on our kitchen counter (which was clean btw) and he happily enjoyed several slices of the quesadilla along with Manish and my mom. 

This post brought back so many good memories of last years summer with my parents here and of course the awesome trip we had with our friends. Food brings back memories, doesn't it...hehe!! Try this out and I hope you'll let me know too when you do.

-Manju