A quick & easy family dinner: Cheesy quesadillas

Since December we have been living with very limited kitchen facilities – a hob, no oven, barely any kitchen space and barely any cooking equipment.  On top of that, the area where the make-shift kitchen was is freezing as it wasn’t heated.  We have now begun renovations on our new home so I can’t wait till be have a brand-spanking new kitchen.  But these last couple of months have been a challenge.  Takeaways aren’t really our thing – I just think they taste nowhere near as good as fresh, home-cooked meals.  So I’ve been trying to think of meals that are very quick to make on a hob but are still fresh and healthy.  Eggs have been a lifesaver and as much as I adore them, I still want variety.  And that’s where these delicious quesadillas have saved the day!

From play date food to after school snacks to a fast but fresh family dinner, quesadillas are quick, easy and so versatile.  You can eat them three days running but with completely different fillings and you feel like you’re having a different meal each day.  The tortilla wraps are handy to keep in the store cupboard and when you don’t have time to cook or just don’t feel like it, you can whip up a meal in minutes.  The filling can be absolutely anything you have lying in the fridge already or anything you fancy.  And these can be made ahead and just heated gently in the oven.

I made these the other day when I had some roast chicken around (which I had bought as without an oven, roasting a chicken is difficult!) so I went for chicken and cheese quesadillas   Here’s what I used:
Flour tortillas
Shredded roast chicken
Grated cheese (I used emmental but have used cheddar and gruyere before)
Finely sliced spring onions
Handfuls of coriander
Finely sliced small green chilli
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter or oil

To make, simply take a tortilla and fill one half of it with your filling and then fold over the other half.  It’s much easier to make these by filling half a tortilla and folding over.  Heat a pan over a medium heat and melt a tiny drop of butter.  Use very little butter to make sure they get crisp – too much and the tortillas will go soggy.  Place the filled tortilla in the pan and cook on each side for 2-3 minutes.  Remove, slice in to wedges and dinner is ready!  It couldn’t be simpler.  (For my kids version, I only put in chicken and cheese as not all kids like coriander and onions and of course no kid likes chillies).   Such an easy dinner that really takes so little effort.

Some more filling ideas: I always like to use a bit of cheese as it helps keep all the filling together but apart from that, anything goes. Ham, mushrooms, re-fried beans, mozzarella, pesto, peppers, tomatoes, tuna, left over roasts, chorizo, bacon, broccoli, sweetcorn, prawns, guacamole, spinach and so much more.  I’ve spoken savoury fillings as this is meant to be a quick and easy family dinner but for a bit of an indulgence I am planning to try a sweet version soon – maybe chocolate spread or peanut butter and fruit.  Sounds yum!

I’ve linked up to Honest Mum’s Tasty Tuesdays.