Quesadillas on the patio

What do you do when it's hot and you don't feel like cooking? We ran around the garden, gathered up some onions, baby zucchini, tomatoes, red bell peppers, and corn. We pulled some asparagus, red onion and baby portobello mushrooms from the fridge, and prepped it all well before dinner. We propped up our legs, whipped out a book and enjoyed the rest of our afternoon.

~Sampling of our fillings~

The most popular was Monterrey Jack cheese, caramelized onions, sweet corn kernels, and peach salsa (homemade). We took 2 perfectly ripe peaches, diced them into 1/4 " dice, added finely minced Serrano chili, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons minced cilantro. That's it! See the picture below; the peach salsa is in the forefront of the picture. We shaved the baby zucchini and asparagus and then lightly sauteed them in a small dab of butter, then seasoned with salt and pepper. Same cooking technique with the baby portobello mushrooms. You get the idea...use the ingredients your family likes. We did add some shredded and seasoned beef for the carnivors.

When it was time to eat, we set up our electric griddle outside and let everyone make their own quesadillas. Everyone had fun making their own creations.

We served a simple salad on the side,

shredded green lettuce
1 green onion, minced
1 small can mandarin oranges, drained
1/3 cup jicama, peeled and shredded or julienned


for the dressing.


Cilantro Dressing


Into a blender place:


juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
pinch sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil


Blend and toss with salad. Serves 6