Quick Quesadillas for Back-to-School Dinner

Dallas-area students started back to school this week and I've seen many of my friends struggling with fitting all of evening activities into already full days.  So, what do you do if family dinner is a priority?  No, do NOT hit the drive thru 4 times in a week (if you can help it).  Instead, whip up a meal in about 10 - 15 minutes.  Yes, I said 10 minutes! :)

A great go-to meal is a quesadilla.  You can make it vegetarian with refried beans or canned black beans (drained and rinsed first!), use leftover meats (bbq brisket, cooked chicken, or even ham), whatever type of cheese you like, and veggies to your liking.  Served with a side of carrot and celery sticks or apple slices, you have a great meal.

But what about other types of quesadilla-inspired options?  I personally love Italian food, and I frequently make a dinner panini.  I thought, why not take the idea of a quesadilla, but make it Italian-style (you can go Asian, Mexican, Greek, whatever)?  Instead of tortillas, I used flat bread, usually found near the deli or bakery in a grocery store.  Prosciutto (Italian ham), provolone, and mozzarella combine into melty perfection and pair perfectly with crispy veggies on the side.  While the sandwiches were baking, I peeled and sliced a cucumber and served it sprinkled with just salt and pepper. 

No real recipe to this, just improvise with what you have. Here's what I did:

Flat Bread Quesadilla Sandwiches

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
You can warm up and slightly toast the bread (flat bread, pitas, or tortillas) by placing it in a pan over medium-high heat just until heated through and lightly browned in spots
Spread mustard, mayo, pesto or whatever you like onto one side of a flat bread. 
Layer on the cheese and meat toppings (ham, salami, turkey or what you like or have around)
Fold over bread (to a half moon shape).
Place on a baking sheet, then bake until the cheese is melted and sandwich is heated through, about 5 - 8 minutes.
Cut into wedges and serve.

Happy eating!

The Lasagna Debacle, Part I

Lasagna, at it's soul, is a simple dish - meat, cheese, sauce, and noodles are its fundamental components.  Yet, there are endless ways of complicating (and simplifying) this wonderful dish.  There is something comforting about the familiar Italian flavors and hearty, substantial personality.  There are 1 billion variations on a classic and countless reasons for them.  In a fit of nostalgia following, I recount the only date meal my husband ever learned to make to impress girls (it impressed me).  Next blog post, I "gourmet" up our tried-and-true (and easy) recipe for something more "artisinal" and completely from scratch.  The debacle?  Does 100% "from scratch" lasagna taste better than the lasagna with pre-made ingredients (i.e. spaghetti sauce, store-bought ricotta, pre-made noodles)?  Results to come in Part II!

My sweetie does not cook much.  He grills great, but never really learned to cook things on the stove.  Maybe I need to challenge him to cook on the grill... hmmm. :)  Since it is rare for him to don the chef's hat for the day, it was very memorable to me when he made me the one-and-only "date" meal he knew - lasagna and garlic bread.  Why did he know how to cook lasagna and nothing else?  I can thank the J.J. Pearce High School College Survival class!  His teacher, far wiser than her students, knew that a guy would eventually want or have to impress his sweetie with a nice home cooked meal.  So, she gave them a reliable lasagna recipe and instructed them to use it!

Over the years, the "Date Lasagna" has morphed from something IceDaddy made for me to something we made together, and, most recently, to something I make for us.  How did this happen????

What I love about the receipe is the simplicity and easy-to-assemble ingredients.  Nothing complicated and aside from a one hour plus cooking time and three basic assembly steps (cook meat and combine with spaghetti sauce, mix ricotta with eggs, and assemble the lasagna), it's pretty easy. 

It's almost like a non-recipe, which is why it's stayed a family favorite.  I can assemble it from memory.

"Date Lasagna"

Serves 6 - 8; inspired from a recipe courtesy of JJ Pearce H.S. Home Ec
1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 - 15 oz container ricotta cheese (regular or part skim)
2 eggs
2 tsp.. dried parsley
Salt and pepper
1 box no-boil lasagna noodles
1/2 lb shredded mozzarella
3 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Combine cooked ground beef, spaghetti sauce, and water.  Mix to combine and season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.  Combine ricotta, eggs, parsley, and about 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper.  Mix to combine and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9x13 pan with non-stick spray.  Spread about 1/2 cup of meat sauce on bottom of pan.  Place about 5 lasagna noodles (uncooked), edges overlapping in pan.  Cover with 1/2 of the ricotta mixture; spread over noodles.  Top with 1/2 of the mozzarella and 1 Tbsp. of the parmesan, finishing with 1/2 of the remaining meat sauce.  Repeat the layering through the meat sauce.  Top with remaining parmesan cheese.

Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Uncover and bake 15 - 30 minutes longer.

Yummy tomatoey goodness

I hope you consider making this for your sweetie.  It's also a great dish to assemble as a family.  Happy eating!