I make quesadillas every single lunch and yet no recipes appear on The Rose Table. The reason? I never measure! But in an effort to bring you more of my everyday foods, I’m writing this up sans measurements.

I especially love making quesadillas for lunch when I have a little leftover chicken or steak. On this particular day, I had delicious Denver steaks from Tate Farms in Rockwall, Texas. I had never heard of a Denver steak before Melissa Tate told me that it’s her husband’s favorite cut of meat. Who am I to argue with a cattle rancher? I seasoned the steaks with a BBQ rub and olive oil and seared it on the grill for a minute on each side, then let it rest and carved it up for tacos on Saturday night, then I chopped up the leftovers for quesadillas on Sunday. (Can you tell I’m Texan?!)

I chopped the leftovers up into tiny pieces for a quesadilla lunch with my friend Irene before a pool day. I also used a homegrown bell pepper and homegrown tomatoes. You gotta love summertime! Bell pepper adds so much flavor to a quesadilla. It’s one of my favorite things to throw in. Tomatoes how ever make quesadillas very difficult to flip because the tortillas slide around, so I always add tomatoes on top rather than inside the quesadilla.

The biggest mistake I see people make with quesadillas is they only do one layer of cheese and then they can’t flip it properly. You need a layer of cheese on both sides of the tortilla. When the cheese melts, it binds the whole quesadilla together.

I always build my quesadillas right in the pan: tortilla, grated cheese, toppings, more grated cheese (I cannot stress enough how important it is to put more cheese on top), then the last tortilla. I like to cook mine low and slow for about ten minutes. Keep an eye on the temperature of your stove; you want the ingredients melted but you don’t want your tortilla to burn.

Note: if you prefer to make a bunch of quesadillas at once, build them on a large cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes.

Steak Quesadillas
Tortillas
Leftover steak 
Colby jack cheese
Bell pepper
Tomatoes
Sour cream
Serving suggestion: cilantro, guacamole, salsa, lime wedges

1. Set a heavy skillet over a medium-low flame to warm up. Chop leftover steak (I used leftover Denver steak, a very tender cut) into tiny pieces. Remove ends and seeds from bell pepper and chop into small pieces. Slice tomatoes in half. Grate colby jack cheese.
2. Set a tortilla on the skillet. It should be warm but not hot. Sprinkle with a generous amount of cheese. Add steak and bell pepper. Top with more cheese. Set another tortilla on top. Let cook until bottom layer of cheese is melty, about five minutes. Insert metal spatula under the center of the tortilla and lift up and over quickly to flip it. Let cook on this side until this layer of cheese is melty and quesadilla is warmed through.
3. Remove quesadilla to a serving board. Cut into wedges and top with tomatoes and sour cream. I almost always eat mine with guacamole, salsa, and lime wedges. This would be great with my mango salsa too!

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Happy flipping,

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