Sunday, August 29, 2010

Grilled Quesadillas


I adore my grill!!  When we did our backyard, my husband put in a large, high power, gas grill, complete with a large tiled prep area.  He pictured himself as King of the Grill, spending his evenings out there sipping a beer, grilling up all sorts of meals.  That scenario occurred a few times and he was happy.  However... he soon went away on a trip (being an airline pilot he does that with frequency!) and I needed some chicken grilled.   There was no doubt about it... I had to step in for the King.  

It was intimidating.  The flame kicked to life with a noisy "pooof", the chicken sizzled as I later placed it on the hot grates and the heat visibly radiated off of the gleaming cover.  Was it too hot?  Would the chicken be overdone?  Did I do it right??  Not only was the chicken not overdone, it was perfect!!  Amazing if I might say so, and I had grilled it myself.  

Grilled Quesadilla ingredients on bar prep area

This was the beginning of a long standing love story between me and my grill.   My husband has been dethroned, and the grill is mine.  He now looks at it with a touch of intimidation as I approach to grill my pizza, or chicken, or quesadillas.  He tentatively asks, "Are you really going to put pizza dough directly on the grill?  Is that really a good idea?"  Yes!  It's a perfect idea!   I've cooked most every meal possible on my grill, even baking a small loaf of bread (not our best result... that one will definitely take more patience and practice). 

Today had the kitchen area busy with boys and their geometry books, so I headed to my friend, the grill, for our quesadillas.  The prep area being larger than I have inside is a pleasure, and made an easy job of cutting up the vegetables for our meal.  Corn, poblanos, onions, and zucchini were today's choice, along with a tender organic breast of chicken for my meat loving husband.  

My favorite quesadilla cheeses!
With the vegies and chicken nicely cooked, I turned to grating some of our favorite cheeses, jalapeño jack for a bit of spice and tangy yet creamy, perfectly melting Manchego.  Layered on a tortilla, the ingredients easily transferred to the glorious grill for a quick meeting with the high temps.  Just long enough to crisp the tortilla and thoroughly melt the cheeses to hold everything together.  Topped with my favorite diced heirloom tomatoes and sliced avocado we had a meal fit for a King!  Well... a dethroned King and the Grill General.



Grilled Vegie or Chicken Quesadillas

Tortillas
Grilled vegies of your choice - corn, peppers, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.
Chicken, if desired
Cheese - may use store purchased shredded cheeses or you may shred your favorites, cheddar, jalapeño jack, manchego, etc.
Toppings of your choice, sour cream, salsa, diced tomatoes, avocado, guacamole, etc.  

Grill vegetables.

Grill chicken (if using).

Shred cheeses.

Place a layer of cheese on one tortilla, or alternatively on 1/2 of a tortilla.  On top of the cheese, place a layer of vegies, cilantro and chicken.  Top with another layer of cheese.  Carefully, transfer filled quesadilla to grill over the lowest heat setting.  Cover.  Watch carefully and flip when cheeses are "melty".  Cover for another minute or so and remove to a cutting board.  Cut into triangles and serve with your favorite toppings!   

Note:  Sometimes I add a touch of hot sauce or grilled jalapeños for a bit of heat.  My husband loves to add some Pulled Pork if we have it on hand! 

18 comments:

  1. Oh I so wish I had an outside space to grill....hopefully with the new home. I can't grill and I will be intimidated as well. When I will have one I will call you for advice. And you are right....almost everything can be cooked on a grill and comes out amazing. Pass me one quesadilla, pleeeeease!

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  2. Love that you "de-throwned" the grill king! I actually asked for a fancy grill one year for my birthday and my husband was thrilled to get it for me. I love it! Your quesadillas look so tasty. Happy grilling!!

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  3. Wow, your quesadillas look good!

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  4. How delicious! Quesadillas are GREAT on the grill!

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  5. I love how it looks both yummy and healthy!

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  6. seasonal and delicious

    http://torviewtoronto.blogspot.com

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  7. How funny, I am queen of the grill most of the time too! Wish I had one that nice! These look so good and your photos are great! Great job, I want one right now, do you deliver? He He

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  8. How wonderful to make the quesadilla on a grill! I love the filling!

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  9. Sounds wonderful! I have a small charcoal grill that I have not come even close to mastering. But I keep trying :)

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  10. Your grilled quesadillas sound and look delicious! I always felt I had to put some kind of meat, but now I can't wait to make vegetable quesadillas!!

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  11. Delicious... my husband is the same way about putting foods other than meat on the grill! Yo go girl! Grill away!

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  12. These are always a hit with my family

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  13. Oh wow, veggie filled quesadillas...and grilled to boot! That sounds too good to be true. we're grillers too. Thanks for passing the recipe along.

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  14. I never had grilled quesadillas...they look yummy.

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  15. Those are some mouthwatering quesadillas! I made a promise to myself to tackle grill cooking this summer - but never followed through. Realized I like cooking inside with air conditioning on much better!

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  16. One look at your quesadillas bursting with fresh corn and you had me hooked, fantastic grilled dinner, thanks for sharing:)

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  17. I love a really good quesadilla, and grilled, mm mm mm.

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  18. I love this story! I defer to my husband almost every time it comes to grilling something, although I am the one who picks out the recipe and preps the food. Maybe I need to get over that!

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