Dinner - Potato Conecuh Quesadilla

This recipe is actually from a couple weeks ago (hence the conecuh sausage from my philly cheese conecuh sandwich recipe and the potatoes from my wing recipe), but it's a great example of how there is ALWAYS enough time to throw together a quick and easy (and yummy!) weeknight dinner. 

It was probably during my time as a poor college student that I realized how amazing quesadillas are, both because of how little time they take to prepare and the fact that you can throw almost anything between those two tortillas and it will taste good smothered in melty cheese. I'm sure they will make an appearance more than once on this blog, but for now I'm going to share one I made only from leftover ingredients.

I started with taco sized tortillas, shredded mozzarella cheese, conecuh sausage, sauteed potatoes, and green onions... I also had some leftover queso and salsa from the OK Bicycle Shop, one of our favorite casual restaurants in Mobile. 

I roughly chopped the sausage and potatoes into small pieces. You could really chop your ingredients into whatever size you want, but keep in mind that the smaller your tortilla shell is, the smaller you'll want your pieces so they don't fall out during the flip!

I briefly sauteed the sausage and potatoes until they were slightly crisped, about 5 minutes each. I also chopped up two of the green onions. 

While my pan was heating up over medium heat, I prepared my tortillas. Personally, I like to coat my tortillas in some sort of oil so they'll turn a crispy golden color when cooked. I find that a light coat of Pam cooking spray does just the trick without adding any calories. You could also lightly rub canola or softened butter on your tortillas if you want a little more crispiness. 

I laid the first tortilla in a pan and added a thick layer of cheese, sausage, potatoes, and green onions. I then sprinkled a light second layer of cheese over the top so it would adhere to the top tortilla.

As the quesadilla sizzled in the pan, I sprayed the top with Pam cooking spray and let it cook for about 5 minutes. 

Once the cheese was completely melted and the bottom turned golden brown, I flipped the quesadilla so the other side could finish cooking, about 3 more minutes. 

Once both sides turned golden brown, I turned off the heat and let the quesadilla sit for a few minutes before cutting it into quarters (I use a pizza cutter to get through all the layers). I served this with some chips and salsa and had an easy weeknight dinner in less than 15 minutes! Enjoy!

Dinner - Chicken Enchiladas

Today was one of those afternoons I came home during my lunch break to let out the pups, so it was the perfect day to throw some food into the crockpot to have ready when I got home for dinner! (That always seems to be the problem with crockpot meals...it's either 4 hours on low or 6 on high so I can't time it right for a full day) For these types of half days, one of the quickest and easiest things to throw together is filling for chicken enchiladas.

To the crockpot I added two chicken breasts, half an onion (chopped), a can of diced green chiles, a heaping tablespoon of jarred jalapenos, 1 tablespoon of cumin, 1 tsp. garlic powder, salt and pepper. For crockpot recipes I will often use frozen chicken breasts since they will have plenty of time to cook and seem to work well for shredding. Once I threw it all in the crockpot, I set it to low and returned to work!

Once I got home (about 5 hours later), I had a cooked and ready filling to shred!

The easiest way for me to shred chicken is simply to put it in a large bowl and pull it apart with two forks. I don't have any of those fancy barbecue tools so this works just fine.

Once the chicken was shredded and the remaining liquid added from the crockpot to make sure it wasn't overly dry, I rounded up the remaining ingredients; tortilla shells, enchilada sauce, and shredded colby jack cheese. 

Now, before I go any further, I want to warn you that not all enchilada sauces are made equal. Personally, I like Old El Paso brand because it has the perfect amount of Tex-Mex flavor. However, if you would rather have a more authentic Mexican flavor, you can certainly try out other brands...to me they just don't taste quite the way I like.

To assemble the enchiladas, I added about 1/2 cup of filling to the center or a large tortilla. 

I then tightly rolled the tortillas up, folded the edges, and laid them in a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish.

I poured two cans of enchilada sauce onto the assembled enchiladas and then covered the top with cheese...you can certainly add more or less sauce and cheese depending on what you prefer.

I baked the dish in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes, until the top was golden and bubbly. Once I pulled it out of the oven I let it rest for 5 - 10 minutes before digging in. I served it with some fajita rice as a side and sour cream on top. For the fajita rice, I simply added sauteed onions and red peppers to cooked white rice, then seasoned with cumin, salt, and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Dinner - Smoked Pork Tacos

Since this week is a four day week for most of the country, I decided to celebrate Taco Tuesday a day early...which was perfect since I needed to use the smoked pork my parents left in Mobile when they visited last weekend! It was just about on its last leg, but it made for a mighty fine taco :)

On our tacos, I decided to make use of some leftover red cabbage as well by pickling it in a vinegar reduction. Then I caramelized some onions and topped it with feta. I didn't have any fresh cilantro (my spice garden is a bit pitiful at the moment) but that would have been an excellent addition as well. Overall it was a very tasty (almost) Tuesday meal!

 For the pickled red cabbage I used 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, and a heaping tablespoon of sugar. 

I combined them in a pot over medium heat until it was boiling and then threw in about 2 cups of thinly sliced red cabbage. I also sliced half a yellow onion and added it to a skillet with 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Salt and pepper both pots and let them simmer away!

I tend to be a bit partial to some good black beans with my tacos, so I made a quick side while everything was cooking. I'm ALL about quick and yummy flavor combinations, so I made use of some fresh salsa that we just picked up from the store tonight (seriously, if you've never had Jack's Special fresh salsa you're missing out on a fundamental life concept). To make an easy side dish, you'll need about a 1/4 cup of salsa and a tablespoon of diced jalapenos(see yesterday's post for my thoughts on buying the jar of pre-diced!). Put this in a skillet over medium heat with the black beans and let it simmer along with everything else.

 I would recommend making a trip to the stove every 5 minutes or so to stir each pot, letting it all cook about 15 minutes. 

Now for the AMAZING part...smoked meat. Seriously. So. Good. I wish computers had a "smell it" button because let me tell you I could eat the air in my kitchen right now (Weird? No, not weird...) If you don't have any smoked meat (which I'm assuming most people wouldn't based on my fridge's history) you can substitute another meat of your choice. Personally, I'd recommend some form of red meat to stand up to the other flavors of this dish.  

For our tacos I diced the meat and warmed it in the leftover butter from the sauteed onions, but you could also slice meat or even serve a large piece of steak.

Once everything was cooked up, I put meat, onions, and red cabbage in a couple small tortillas and sprinkled everything with some feta. I'm kinda funny about my black bean juice getting all over my tortillas and making them soggy, so I put them in a small bowl but it's your choice. Serve with some chips and Jack's Special salsa and you are set for a great taco (almost) Tuesday!

Enjoy!!!!