Grilled Veggie Quesadillas

One of our favorite family meals = Grilled Veggie Quesadillas. I can buy all the ingredients I need at Aldi on the cheap. In fact, this dinner usually makes it into our weekly rotation, no matter what. So, for Cinco De Mayo this year, I thought I’d get a few fun ingredients to kick them in overdrive. I also picked up a quesadilla grill basket for the long outdoor eating season ahead.

I guess I should note first that we loved this dinner so much, I actually forgot to snap photos of the finished product. Oops!

GRILLED VEGGIE QUESADILLAS

To make this dinner, I planned ahead. I roasted the following veggies at 375 degrees F for around 45 minutes. Of course, you can grill your veggies first and then assemble -- but weeknights sometimes require a little forward thinking if we want to cook out. I found it helpful to cut veggies into large chunks and then cut them smaller once they were roasted/cooled.

• Cauliflower
• Poblano peppers
• Onion
• Portabella mushrooms
• Use whatever you like, though!

From there, I had some small stone ground corn tortillas that I piled with a layer of veggies. I’ll be honest: I don’t think the tortillas I used were great on the grill. You have to like them almost chip-like crisp in the end. Kind of sharp. They still taste amazing, but when we make these again, I’m going to use softer flour tortillas.

Pile like so . . .


After the veggies comes the CHEESE.

I used a seasoned taco mix I found at Wegmans.


From there, add another tortilla on top. Alternatively, you can use larger tortillas, pile up half with toppings and fold into a crescent. Either way, you’ll load your into the quesadilla grill basket. Secure the top. I was amazed and how well it held everything in place. Brush with a little olive oil.

Then place on your grill --  you’ll want the cover closed -- for several minutes (around 5 -- depending) on each side until lightly browned. The cheese will be melty. The veggies nice and hot. Seriously, we started munching on one before we got everything to the table.

Slice and enjoy!


We served ours with some Roasted Tomatillo + Corn Salsa I made last August and had frozen. Also some Greek yogurt and lots of hot sauce. Next time I’ll be sure to snap a finished photo. If they last!

I can’t wait to cook our first pizza on the grill. Seriously. If I lived in a warmer climate, I think I’d be a much happier person. Being outside in the warmth and sunshine makes me feel like an entirely different person. I will certainly cherish these next several months until we’re in the deep freeze again.

Like what you just read? Browse more of our posts + recipes on Pinterest. You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

Read more...

Veggie-Loaded Quesadillas

One of my favorite things to do at the start of a busy week is to roast a big batch of veggies to toss into soups, burgers, and other recipes throughout the week. With my fridge full of inexpensive Aldi eats (see my month of groceries for under $300 -- $72/week!), this usually means I'll roast cauliflower, green peppers, onions, and sometimes mushrooms.

// BASIC ROASTING

Just preheat oven to 375 degrees F, chop veggies, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt + pepper, and then bake in 15-20 minute intervals until browned and delicious.

Then I scoop into containers for fridge storage.

And to toss in recipes like this one!



// VEGGIE-LOADED QUESADILLAS
Makes 4, serves two hungry runners.

What you'll need . . .

• 4 medium flour tortillas
• 1 cup (or more) black or pinto beans, drained + rinsed
• 1 cup roasted veggies, chopped small
• Shredded cheese*, as much or as little as you'd like
• Olive oil
• salsa
• Greek yogurt
• sliced avocado
• hot sauce

Method . . .

1. Get all of you ingredients out and in front of you. This part is important for fast, efficient assembly.
2. Drizzle olive oil into a medium pan over medium-high heat and place your first tortilla on to cook for 15-30 seconds (lightly browned). 
3. Then flip and immediately spread a thin layer of cheese, then some beans, then veggie mixture and use a spatula to fold in half + press down to cook bottom side until golden.
4. Carefully flip to cook on other side, until golden and cheese is wonderful with melty goodness.
5. If your pan gets too hot, lower heat a bit and wait a couple minutes. It happens between cooking sessions.
6. Repeat with remaining tortillas and fillers -- then slice in half or quarters.
7. Scoop a couple tablespoons of the yogurt and salsa on the side, dribble with hot sauce, and top with avocado slices.

* I shred blocks of Colby-Jack, Pepper-Jack, Cheddar, etc.

And did I mention this entire recipe -- soup to nuts -- was made with Aldi ingredients? Believe it! It's a new favorite of ours because it's got a lot of flavor AND nutrition. We use the organic salsa in medium spice . . . and you seriously can't beat their prices on avocados. That used to be a luxury item, and now we're buying them every week.

Pure joy right there.

What great meals have you made with inexpensive ingredients lately?

More #unsponsored ALDI recipes:

Fresh Orange Wakeup Smoothie -- 19 grams of protein!
Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup -- lots of hidden veggies!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

Read more...

Homemade Tortillas = Fantastic Quesadillas

We were craving Mexican food last night, but we didn't have any tortillas in our casa. Well, we did, actually. But they were those tortillas from Wegmans with all the fish oil in them -- YUCK! (Not about the fish, necessarily -- but fish oil in bread gives me the creeps.) Admittedly, I thought making our own from scratch would be difficult. Time consuming.

Oh, how I was wrong.


Making from-scratch tortillas at home is so freaking easy, I don't know why I didn't do it before now. The process takes 15 minutes. The end-product is fresh and legitimate. Best yet -- it's absolutely perfect for burritos, quesadillas (recipe below), or chimichangas (check out Jessica's recipe).

It's Friday. You don't want to read paragraph after paragraph of my witty remarks. You want recipes. Maybe a little food porn. Am I right? And you want it fast. So, that's just what I'm going to give you! Try this recipe for dinner this weekend!


FROM-SCRATCH TORTILLAS (makes 4 large ones)

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cup unbleached bread flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup warm water (plus a couple tablespoons, if necessary)

Method . . .

1. Mix together the flours, baking powder, and salt.
2. Cut in the vegetable shortening with a knife (I just used my hands) until the mixture is somewhat crumbly.
3. Add in the warm water 1/4 cup at a time. Slowly. You don't want to add too much. However, if your mixture is too dry, keep adding slowly. Your dough should be moist, but not sticky.
4. Divide into four equal balls and let sit -- covered by plastic wrap -- for 5 to 10 minutes.
5. On a floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll your dough into flat rounds (that resemble tortillas -- yup!).
6. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Spray lightly with canola oil and then cook each tortilla until it is lightly browned on each side.
7. Set aside (even keep warm in two plates, like in the photo below). Then follow the steps below.

MAKE IT A QUESADILLA!

What you'll need . . .

• 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes, drained and diced
• 1 can low-sodium corn, drained
• 1 small to medium zuchinni, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can vegetarian refried beans (or we just mashed up some white beans and added hot sauce for flavor)
• Cheese of your choice (Pepper-Jack works well)

Method . . .

1. In a medium sauce pan, heat up a bit of oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes. Add zuchinni and cook until softened. Then add the corn and tomatoes. Cook for five or so minutes, until warmed and softened.
2. Spread a quarter of your refried beans/bean mixture on half of a tortilla. Top with the veggies and then cheese.
3. Fold over and grill in a panini press or in a pan on your stove-top. We have a specific pan that I won on Foodbuzz well over a year ago (below -- don't make fun of my hair!). It was the first time I used it -- but it worked great!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!!

Read more...