Cowboy Quesadillas - Girl and Her Kitchen

I do love quick dinners. Seriously, it is so difficult to cook these days with my little guy running around. My evenings usually go something like this:
The girls are playing and I finally get my son interested in something. I tip toe away and start prepping dinner. I turn to grab an ingredient and like a ghost in the night, he is RIGHT behind me, grabbing onto my legs and begging to be picked up.

I ask, encourage…ok, let’s get real….BEG him to go back and play with his toys, but before you know it, I am one handed stirring a pot of boiling liquid, chopping with one hand and wondering if instead of diced peppers, the recipe could handle one whole pepper just dumped in. I am skipping ingredients because I cannot focus and by the time my husband walks in the door, I am desperate.

“Take HIM!” I beg.

And then, finally, I can cook.

Although, now, the girls are bored and looking for something to do…and it is usually in the kitchen.

So when I come across a quick meal, or one that can be made ahead of time, I am ecstatic.

This is one of those quick dinners. And, an extra bonus, it is really good! I made the chicken mixture and the dipping sauce when my son was napping, and then quickly assembled these at dinner time and it only took minutes. I served them with some crunchy pepper strips that I cut up earlier too, so dinnertime prep was extremely minimal which equals one happy mom.

My kids loved it and they for some reason loved the name too. Somehow we were all getting really goofy at the dinner table and kept saying, “Howdy pardner!” It was a little weird, but actually kind of funny. I think it is hysterical that they pretty much thought they summed up cowboys in those two little words. And really, they now probably believe that these quesadillas were a main staple of cowboys back in the day.

Oh well. I will set them straight one of these days. Along with the fact that policeman will not

actually come our door to arrest anyone just because they weren’t listening to their mom, and that the gum they swallowed will not, in fact, stay in their stomachs for seven years.

There is plenty of time for all of that.

Cowboy Quesadillas

1/2 cup brown or white rice (I used brown)

1/2 cup black beans
1 1/2 cup diced, cooked chicken
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
8 medium tortillas, any variety
Olive oil or cooking spray

Combine rice, beans, chicken, corn and tomatoes. Add barbecue sauce and stir until coated. Divide into 4 even portions. Heat skillet. Drizzle olive oil in skillet or coat with cooking spray. Place one tortilla in hot pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese on tortilla and one portion of barbecue chicken mixture. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup cheese on top. Place second tortilla on top and press down gently with a spatula. Heat until golden brown and slightly crisp about 2-3 minutes. Flip carefully and cook for 2-3 minutes on other side. Flip onto a plate, slice in wedges (I used a pizza cutter) and serve with barbecue ranch dipping sauce.

Barbecue Ranch Dipping Sauce

1 cup ranch dressing
3 tblsp barbecue sauce

Mix well and serve with quesadillas.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply