An American Girl's Mexican Quesadilla

One of my favorite places to travel is Mexico. What North Dakota gal doesn’t like Mexico especially when the winters here are so brutally cold!? I am lucky enough to work for a company where I have received many opportunities to travel. I never thought in my wildest dreams would I have had the opportunities I have had in the last 8 years. I met my husband this way after all (our first kiss was in Cologne, Germany). 

I went to Mexico (Cancun) for the first time when I was 19. It was spring break. I went with maybe 20 other people and of course, we had a blast! We went deep sea fishing, went to Chichen Itza, went to a “mission,” and it was there I had my first taste authentic Mexican food. It’s true people; what you eat here in the Midwest is NOT Mexican food! It’s Midwest-Mex as I like to call it. 

The next time I went to Mexico was almost 10 years later. There would be no cool blue waters, no white sand beaches, no deep sea fishing. I went to the (almost) geographical center of Mexico, Leon, Guanajuato. It’s a beautiful city surrounded by mountains in the center of the country. It is absolutely wonderful and it just so happens to be the leather capital of Mexico. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different purses, wallets, jackets and shoes to choose from. And if they don't have it they will make it for you. 

*Side note--if you ever go there go to the leather district. It is here you can find men and women selling fruit from carts on the street. My favorite was cucumber and honeydew with chili! They put chili on everything and now I know why; it's good! 

If you don't come for the leather or fruit on the street you should go for the food. You can find Carl's Junior, Italianni's (like Oliver Garden) and even some sushi and teppanyaki.

But the best is the street food. I know that freaks some people out because we are used to such sterile environments but let me tell you, a taco or quesadilla (a true quesadilla) is the best when it comes from the street or from the small taqueria’s that line the streets. 

You can smell the peppers and cooked meat for blocks! The meat is paper thin and cooked ever-so-delicately on a hot, hot grill. It comes off, is chopped up and is then slathered onto a corn tortilla (that was fried in the oil of the meat) filled with cheese. This, my friends, is a quesadilla. A quesadilla is not an uber giant flour tortilla filled with bacon and co-jack cheese.

Some places will provide you with small bowls of onions, hot peppers, and assorted sauces at the table. Other places you’ll go up and load your quesadillas on own. Either way, my favorite is with onions, cilantro, hot peppers, and a squeeze of fresh lime. My goodness, my mouth is watering. 

The last time I was in Mexico I went every day to have quesadillas. I couldn’t help myself. I can’t get those here…until now. I’ve come up with a way to make an American’s Girls Mexican Quesadilla. 

I don’t have pictures and I don’t have a recipe. All I can give you is an idea of what I do. 

4-5 tomatoes (I usually use Roma but you should use what you like) diced. I generally do not use the seeds or the pulp. It’s a salsa but I don’t want it runny.

2-3 T chopped cilantro

1 white onion diced (use half if you don’t like a lot of onions)

1 jalapeño seeded and chopped into tiny pieces

I T (or more depending on how you like it) freshly squeezed lime (or lemon) juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all in one bowl and set aside so the flavors can marry

You can really use any meat you want; whatever sounds good to you; chicken, pork, beef. You could even use beans instead of meat but I like to use sirloin. I purchase a small piece and pound the shit out of it with a meat tenderizer (put it between two pieces of parchment paper). I then cut it into itty,bitty, tiny pieces. I season it with salt and pepper and place it in a non-stick skillet and fry it up. You really don’t need to fry it long so be careful not to overcook it.

Set the meat aside after cooking and wipe out the pan with a paper towel.

Put 1 T of peanut oil (I use this because it has a higher smoking point and my smoke alarm loves to go off even when we make toast) into the bottom of the pan—turn your stove onto HIGH!

When the oil begins to ripple place one corn tortilla in the bottom of the pan. Watch it carefully as it can burn. If the burner seems too hot, turn it down. Fry the tortilla until the one side is crispy—not super crispy though—you don’t want it to be a chip. Be careful , if you add too much oil your tortilla will be nasty. You might have to sacrifice a couple of tortillas until you get it just right.

When the one side is a bit crispy flip it over and place cheese (use Monterrey Jack if you can’t find any Mexican Cheese blends) in the middle of the tortilla. As the other side is cooking you want to watch it carefully. By this point some of the oil might be gone and it will be easy for the tortilla to burn. Fold the tortilla in half (in the pan) so it’s a half moon. Once the second side is “done” put it on a plate to rest while you make up the rest of your tortillas.

Like I said this tortilla part can be tricky. Too much oil and it’s a greasy mess; too little oil and your tortilla will burn. If you ever get a bubble in your tortilla but pop it with a fork.

Once you’ve mastered your tortillas it’s time to assemble! Open them up, put in some meat, put in some salsa, and enjoy! So good.