“Quesadillas are great standby meals to have in the freezer because they thaw so quickly” There is an art to making quesadillas. Learn from my mistakes:
- Use 1 rather than 2 tortillas. Don’t sandwich your filling between 2 tortillas. I learnt this the hard way when I flipped a tortilla and most of the filling went flying. Use the “half moon” technique by putting the filling on one side then folding the tortilla over. When you flip, flip it over the folded edge which will ensure all the filling stays in.
- Don’t overfill. It’s so tempting to overstuff it. But resist! Not only is it harder to flip but it’s also harder to eat because the filling falls out. As a general rule, stick to about 1/3 cup of filling in total per tortilla.
- Don’t cook on high heat. The tortilla will burn before the cheese is melted. Patience will be rewarded. Turn down the heat to medium / medium high.
- Don’t use corn tortillas. Because they’re less pliable, they don’t hold together well when you flip them.
- Eat them fresh off the stove! They don’t reheat well – the crispy crust goes soggy. Quesadillas are great for freezing! Because they’re quite thin, they defrost quickly which means you don’t even need to remember to take them out of the freezer before you leave for work. You can just take them out 30 minutes to an hour before dinner and they will defrost. If you are really pressed for time, just zap them in the microwave to thaw them. I’ve done this before and they still crisp up perfectly on the stove. I’ve jazzed up these Pulled Pork Carnitas Quesadillas with caramelized onion which is a cost effective way of making a dish “gourmet”. Caramelized onions freeze well and can be stored in the fridge for up to a week so it’s a great idea to cook up a big batch while you’re at it! These quesadillas are made using leftover Pork Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork) because it is part of a series where I show you how you can make How to Make 5 Mexican Freezer Friendly meals (for 4 people!) in 1 hour for $50 using one batch of Pork Carnitas. But you can substitute with cooked chicken or beef (lamb might be a bit odd tasting…🤔). In this series, each meal serves 4, so if you’re cooking for 2, then you’ll have 10 meals! Really truly, cross my heart. And it’s a super cost effective menu because there’s a lot of common ingredients, plus a little bit of Pork Carnitas goes a long way.
