Taco & Mushroom Quesadillas -

Here’s the recipe:

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

8 flour tortillas

Butter

4 large button mushrooms sliced

1 lb ground beef/pork/chicken/turkey

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (divided into 4ths)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (divided into 4ths)

Taco seasoning (here’s my Taco Seasoning Recipe)

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

Brown your ground meat. Once browned, add in taco seasoning and a splash or so of water. Mix and set aside.
Sauté your mushrooms in a small amount of butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Heat a pan over medium heat.
Butter 1 side of each tortilla.
Place 1 tortilla in the heated pan butter side down and add a layer of cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. Then add some mushrooms and some of the taco meat. Top with a layer of cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. Place second tortilla on top with butter side up.
Once the bottom is browned, flip it over and brown the other side. Once the other side is browned, it is done!
Repeat steps 4-6 for the remaining quesadillas.
Serve with a side salad or chips and salsa. Enjoy!

Notes:

For the types of cheeses, I typically use cheddar and mozzarella but you can use any cheese mix you want. Or just use 1 cheese if you prefer. Totally up to you. Also, you will use about 1/4 a cup of cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese per quesadilla so make sure to divide it out to make it easier.

Also, use leftover taco meat if you have it!! This will eliminate step 1 and make it that much easier. And, to be honest, this recipe was born out of leftover taco meat!

Inspiration:

This recipe is my go-to lunch when we have leftover taco meat. I have made it for my husband (just sans mushrooms) and he loves it! He is not a veggie eater so as long as there is meat and cheese only, he’s all in. This recipe was literally born out of my need to eat lunch with the little bit of leftover taco meat that we had in the fridge. And since then, it is my go-to lunch.

There are some days where I look in our fridge and it looks empty. Nothing looks appetizing and I just need something to carry me through the rest of the day. This is where this recipe came from. We always have leftover taco meat from taco night and I always have mushrooms and shredded cheese in the fridge. I just decided one day to try it in a quesadilla format and haven’t looked back!

Quesadillas are so easy and fun to eat that I always try to experiment with them. On the savory side, I have made a chicken parmesan quesadilla and buffalo chicken quesadillas. On the sweet side, I have made a banana and chocolate/hazelnut spread quesadilla – and that is to die for! Honestly, I think quesadillas are the best vehicle to literally throw whatever you have in the fridge into it. They are that versatile! I just love that this one has a veggie and protein so it keeps me full until dinner. It even works as a great dinner meal for a family. And, because quesadillas are so fun to eat, kids love them! I can’t wait until Coop is old enough to try them out.