Simple Quesadilla

Weeknight dinner alert!

What do you make when you are short on time and didn't thaw anything from the freezer?

Bean and cheese quesadillas! 

Quesadillas turn up pretty often in our house since they are easy to make and my husband loves them.  What's even better is that they are pretty individual.  You can make them all the same, or everyone can make their own with different ingredients.

Last week was busy!  I arrived home one night and didn't have anything thawed out, so I had to figure something out fast. 

Enter the quesadilla.

Usually we have quesadillas with chicken, but I didn't have any thawed, so I added in the black beans for protein.  

We've used a myriad of ingredients such as: olives, sauteed onions, salsa, green onions, etc.  We've even made buffalo chicken quesadillas!

So if it's 5:30 pm, and you're hungry, get to work.  You'll be feasting in 5 minutes!

First, heat a little bit of olive oil in your skillet over a medium-low heat.

Next, lay a tortilla down and start topping it with your ingredients.

Once you have everything on your tortilla, cover it with another one.  Let the tortillas crisp up a bit-typically 1-2 minutes.  Use a spatula to peek at the bottom side to keep it from getting burnt.  After the underside is golden brown, turn the tortilla over to brown the other side.

Remove from the heat and cut into triangles.

I usually cut this into 6 pieces and use my pizza slicer to cut it with ease!

For these specific quesadillas I used sharp cheddar cheese, black beans, and hot sauce.

Spanish rice recipe to follow!

Comment and tell me your go to quick meal!  I'm always looking for new dinner ideas!

Chicken Stuffing Casserole

When Mack was born, some of our friends brought us dinner one night when they came to meet the little mister.

It was complete comfort food, and we devoured it.  It was so good.

They provided a basic casserole with chicken, veggies, and stuffing.

Fast forward 6 months and one of my co-workers gave birth to a little girl last week.  I wanted to do something nice for her because I can remember how hectic those first few weeks really are.  So I got the recipe from Tara and whipped it up one Saturday morning.  

It is so easy and tasty!  It's like a fancy fake out, because it takes virtually no time to put together.  It's the thought and the food that counts, right?  Not the length of time it takes to prepare it.

The ingredients are simple: canned chicken-although I'm sure you could use fresh diced chicken breast, cream of chicken soup, milk, frozen mixed veggies, and boxed stuffing.

I really like casseroles because they basically are a complete dinner in one dish.  Casseroles eliminate the need to make sides dishes etc.  One thing I don't like about casseroles is that many times you have to cook the items that go in them ahead of time.  I think of casseroles as being time saving, but when you have to cook all the items ahead, they are not.   This one is so simple.  The only ingredient you have to cook ahead is the stuffing.  Stove top for the win. 

So I started the water for the stuffing and got to mixing everything else together. 

First, I put the cream of chicken in a bowl and slowly added milk to it until it got to casserole consistency.  There really isn't an exact measurement. I added about 1/4 cup at a time and mixed it through.  I estimate that I added close to a cup.

After that was mixed through, I threw my frozen veggies and canned chicken and mixed it again.

I finished making the stuffing once the water boiled and scattered it over the top.

I didn't bake it since I was taking it to her, but I would estimate to put it in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Enjoy!

You can also download a FREE 3x5 card of the recipe here!