Do you ever just get inspired by a photo and then jump in the kitchen and make something?  That is kind of how this recipe came about.  I was looking through my new BHG and spotted a recipe for grilled quesadillas.  I’m not really sure how they made them but this is what I came up with and it is a keeper.  Oh and by the way…welcome to mmmMonday!

Ingredients:

1 bag of boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins

flour tortillas

yellow and red peppers

onion

salt and pepper

brown rice

pepper jack cheese

sour cream

1 lime

cilantro

butter

I didn’t give exact amounts on all of this…because I think that each person can just adjust to what they need.  If you are only making quesadillas for two you won’t need much brown rice…but I was cooking for a family of five.  You guys are smart…you can just eyeball it.  😉

Directions:

I began by cooking the chicken in an iron skillet.  (My cowboy cookware.)  After the chicken started cooking a bit…I then added the red and yellow pepper.  You could use green if you want.  I just had these on hand.  Then I diced an onion and threw it in there.  While that was going, we cooked the amount of rice that we thought that we  would need to spread a layer on our quesadillas.  Then we  grated our pepper jack cheese.  We used 8 oz.   After the chicken mixture was finished (Don’t forget to season with s & p.) and the rice was done…it was time to assemble and grill.  I preheated my grill pan…maybe on medium/high heat.  I  rubbed the pan with a little olive oil and butter.  On one half of the tortilla I  layered rice, chicken mixture and cheese.  Then I folded the tortilla over and placed it in the grill pan.  While it’s grilling you can brush it with butter to soften it a little. After a minute or two, with tongs, flip it over and grill until the cheese inside starts to melt.  (If you don’t have a grill pan…and iron skillet or just a regular skillet will work too…just like a grilled cheese.)

After my grilled quesadillas were done, I mixed some light sour cream with the juice of one lime and some diced cilantro.  Oh my goodness.  I love that.  You can eyeball that mixture too…and adjust to your own taste.  I probably used about a half cup of sour cream, one lime and a handful of cilantro.

There you have it, Dirt Road Foodies.  My recipes are very casual…with room for invention.  This was quick and easy and delicious.  It’s not rocket science but it puts a good, healthy, meal on the table.  Next week we will be sharing the joys of the Mother/Daughter Meatloaf.  The girls and I whipped up a mean meatloaf together and it was so much fun.  I can’t wait to share it with you.  (They helped with the quesadillas too…my son-in-laws will love me someday.)  😉

Let me know if you think that you might try this or if you have a recipe that you would like to see on here….or if you just like to talk food…like me.  I love your comments.  They make me smile.  (I just realized that I say “eyeball” a lot when I’m cooking. Is that normal?)

Have a great day!

Hey Sweets!  How was your Easter?  Was it wonderful?  I hope so.  I hope that it was filled with all things wonderful….just like ours.  So here we are…back to mmmMonday! Are you guys full of ham?  Did you know that up until a few years ago I didn’t realize that people always had ham for Easter?  WHERE ON EARTH WAS I?  I am a foodie kind of gal and this slipped by me.  Probably because my family didn’t do ham for Easter…maybe.  I don’t know….but NOW I know.  😉

So….it’s mmmMonday! and I have a little squash tip for you. You know…it’s spring….squash is yellow…see the connection?  Okay…moving on. Ha!  Where I’m from, squash is grown to be fried.  Some of our mommas rolled it in flour then dipped it in milk and egg.  Other mommas used cornmeal.  Any way you fry it…it’s a warm bit of heaven on your tongue.  Fried squash is comfort food…no doubt about it.

Saying all of that…today I’m going to give you a new little take on squash.  We usually have an abundance of it in the summer…as long as the squash bugs are kept at bay.  Even when we don’t have it on the vine…you can usually pick it up at the grocery store year around.  Yellow squash is my favorite.  There are other names for it…but generally we just call it yellow. Last year I was trying to come up with some different ways to fix it.  Enter:  The Panini grill press pan.

Do you guys have a Panini pan or some sort of grill pan?  That is all you need.  That and a little olive oil and salt and pepper.  Squash is wonderful this way.  It gives it an amazing flavor…and that is coming from a girl (Doesn’t that sound young? Yes..it does.) that was raised on fried squash.

GRILLED SQUASH

(I only use the bottom of my grill pan….of course.)  😉

yellow squash (or whatever kind you love)

olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions:

Go ahead and get your gill pan warming on the stove.  Maybe a mediumish heat.  You don’t want it too hot…but you do want a nice little sizzle.  Cut your squash length-wise.  Brush them with olive oil and add a little salt and pepper. Lay them on your grill pan and cook for a few minutes until they are starting to get a little translucent and then turn. Cook on this side until they are cooked through. You might need to add a little more S&P to taste.

There ya go, Dirt Roaders.  A healthy easy side just for you.  We want you to be around for years to come.  We want you to grow up big and strong.  😉  I’m being good today.  There is a bowl full of air-popped popcorn beside me…..dressed in a tad of real butter and a drizzle of olive oil.  Of course a little sea salt too. Let’s be healthy and live to be old and crusty.  Now…go forth…and grill that squash!