Start with frozen chicken quesadilla from Trader Joe's - had them at the
sampling table at the back and they were OK but boring. Did the
following that me and both my boys thought tasted excellent:

Frying pan with 1/4 inch (or so) of olive oil + 2 cloves worth of frozen
garlic cubes - heat on medium-low so that the garlic cubes thaw
completely and are evenly distributed in the oil. While this is
happening, defrost quesadillas in microwave.

Turn heat up to medium or medium-high, add quesadillas to frying pan,
pour a little mild "buffalo wing" sauce on, plus salt and pepper, cook
until golden brown on bottom side, probably 3 minutes.

Turn quesadillas over, cover liberally with grated sharp cheddar, add a
generous amount of dried oregano, and a bit more black pepper. Turn
heat up for a minute or two to brown, then turn heat down and cover with
a lid to help the cheese melt. NB: It's good if some of the cheese
falls off the quesadilla and fries in the olive oil.

Remove from pan, not forgetting any fried cheese on the bottom of the
pan. Cut up into bite-sized pieces and serve.

Yummy!

The same approach would work just fine with scratch-made quesadillas -
flour tortilla, fill as you like, but that was more work and all this
was happening after 10 PM last night.

-S-

Steve Freides wrote:
> Start with frozen chicken quesadilla from Trader Joe's - had them at
> the sampling table at the back and they were OK but boring. Did the
> following that me and both my boys thought tasted excellent:
>
> Frying pan with 1/4 inch (or so) of olive oil + 2 cloves worth of
> frozen garlic cubes - heat on medium-low so that the garlic cubes thaw
> completely and are evenly distributed in the oil. While this is
> happening, defrost quesadillas in microwave.
>
> Turn heat up to medium or medium-high, add quesadillas to frying pan,
> pour a little mild "buffalo wing" sauce on, plus salt and pepper, cook
> until golden brown on bottom side, probably 3 minutes.
>
> Turn quesadillas over, cover liberally with grated sharp cheddar, add
> a generous amount of dried oregano, and a bit more black pepper. Turn
> heat up for a minute or two to brown, then turn heat down and cover
> with a lid to help the cheese melt. NB: It's good if some of the
> cheese falls off the quesadilla and fries in the olive oil.
>
> Remove from pan, not forgetting any fried cheese on the bottom of the
> pan. Cut up into bite-sized pieces and serve.
>
> Yummy!
>
> The same approach would work just fine with scratch-made quesadillas -
> flour tortilla, fill as you like, but that was more work and all this
> was happening after 10 PM last night.
>
> -S-

I would never think to buy a quesadilla unless perhaps I had a coupon for it
and could get it for cheap or free. They are just sooo easy to make to
start with!

One thing I make that we all like is a tamale casserole using canned
tamales. And yes, I know they in no way resemble a real tamale. I put them
in a baking dish with some form of tomato product. Either salsa, chopped
tomatoes (fresh or canned), tomato sauce, etc. Whatever I have in the
house. I also put a goodly layer of while onion and bell peppers in this.
I prefer the green but daughter prefers red so I use both. Cheese is really
good in this too. Bake or nuke until heated through. I like the veggies to
remain somewhat crispy. Then top it with a mess of black pitted olives and
serve.

This really isn't something I make very often because although the other
ingredients in it are all healthy, I'm not so sure that the tamales are.
But we do like it!