Yes, quesadillas! Quesadillas happen a lot in my kitchen, because I’m a lazy college student and I sometimes I just want something yummy now. They’re quick, easy, and like many of the other food items on this blog, very versatile. As usual, we’ll start with the very basics. To make a simple quesadilla, you need:

A tortilla

Cheese

Usually I make a point of stating how bland and boring the “basic” version of a dish can be, but in this case I’ll make an exception. The “basic” quesadilla probably won’t make a great dinner (hint: if you’re supposed to be cooking for a romantic dinner with your date, I wouldn’t make them a “basic” quesadilla. Actually, unless your date is really into quesadillas, you should probably make something else. Moving on…), but they’re great for snacks and quick lunches.

I have an hour break between two of my classes, but with the 1o minute walk from the building to my room, I generally choose to just stay in the building and wait for my next class. This is over lunch time, so my options are to go to the cafeteria and spend more money than I should, or pack myself a small lunch. Cue the “basic” quesadilla. I can make it in the morning while I’m getting ready for class, pop it into a ziploc bag, and munch on it during lunch time when I get hungry. Perfect!

The process is extremely simple:

Take a tortilla

Put cheese on it (lots and lots of delicious cheese)

Fold it in half

Microwave it

Eat! (or store for later)

You could also do it in the pan, but if you’re going with the most basic route, you’re probably going to stick with the microwave. Now for the fun part. How to improve upon the quesadilla? Or make it heartier? You can try adding some of the following:

Some form of meat (chicken, beef, pork)

Mushroom

Pepper

Tomato

Broccoli

You can also go the microwave route with these if you like, but if I’m going to make a serious quesadilla, I generally resort to the pan. You can still use the fold-in-half method with a single tortilla; when I use the pan, I prefer to use two tortillas to sandwich all of the cheesy goodness. The process isn’t too difficult:

Heat up the pan

Put in the tortilla

Add a layer of cheese

Add the rest of the ingredients (vegetables, meats)

Add another later of cheese

And lay another tortilla over it

Once the cheese has gotten nice and melty, flip your quesadilla

Once you’re done, you can cut it into slices, like a pizza, and serve it to your friends, or just eat it all yourself. And if you have sour cream or salsa lying around, it’ll go nicely with your quesadilla.