mexican

Pesto Chicken Quesadillas / Quesadilje sa pestom i piletinom

Crunch Crunch Away, , , , , , , 1 Comment

Well, hello! It’s been a while and no, I am not dead. I don’t have any particular reason for being away for so long – I just needed some time to decompress and take a break. I do love this little corner of the internet where I talk about food, but after 500+ of published blog posts, I feel like I kinda need to slow down. I don’t plan on leaving, far from it. But I’ll probably post less frequently.

But let’s talk food, shall we? This quesadilla dish was inspired by a fancy sourdough pesto and cheese sandwich I had recently. I wanted to create something which would be similar in flavor, but would also work well enough as a workday lunch. I also sneaked in some sauted veggies to make the meal a bit healthier and made the cheese amount a bit more sensible. These turned out very delicious and even though the ingredient list seems sort of endless, this dish is super versatile and you can definitely use up any random leftovers you might have lying around.

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INGREDIENTS:

(Yields 8 servings / 0.89 per serving / 7.17 EUR for all)

For the chicken:

1 boneless skinless chicken breast (2.00 EUR)

½ tsp salt (0.01 EUR)

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper (0.03 EUR)

1 tbsp Sriracha (0.07 EUR)

1 tbsp mustard (0.07 EUR)

2 tbsp olive oil (0.09 EUR)

For the veggies:

1 tbsp olive oil (0.04 EUR)

1 head of broccoli (0.67 EUR)

1 large red pepper (0.40 EUR)

1 onion (0.10 EUR)

Good pinch of salt (0.01 EUR)

Good pinch of freshly ground black pepper (0.02 EUR)

½ tsp garlic powder (0.03 EUR)

½ tsp dried oregano (0.03 EUR)

For the assembly:

8 tortillas (1.60 EUR)

1 cup pesto (0.80 EUR)

2 cups shredded melty cheese (0.80 EUR)

¼ cup pickled jalapenos (0.40 EUR)

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METHOD:

Cut the chicken into thin fillets, then toss together with salt, pepper, Sriracha, mustard and olive oil. Leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes, but best overnight. Fry the chicken fillets on a non-stick pan, then cut into small chunks.

To the same pan you’ve used for frying the chicken, add another tablespoon of olive oil and chopped-up broccoli, red pepper and onion. Season the veggies with salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano, then cook for about five minutes until slightly softened.

When ready to assemble the quesadillas, smear pesto on each tortilla, then top with chicken, veggies, cheese and a few jalapeno slices. Fold the tortilla in half, then lightly toast on a dry non-stick skillet on both sides. You can also lightly crisp up the quesadillas in the oven if you are super lazy (like I was). Serve warm.

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Pozdrav svima! Prošlo je nešto vremena i ne, nisam umrla. Nemam neki specifični razlog zašto sam toliko bila odsutna – jednostavno sam trebala malo vremena za dekompresiju i odmor. Volim ovaj svoj mali kutak interneta gdje blebećem o hrani, ali nakon 500+ objavljenih recepata, imam osjećaj da trebam malo usporiti. Nije mi u planu nikakav odlazak, daleko od toga. Ali sigurno ću manje postati u budućnosti.

Ali ajmo mi sada malo o hrani, može? Ovaj recept za quesadilje je bio nadahnut fancy sourdough sendvičem sa pestom i sirom kojeg sam nedavno jela. Ideja mi je bila da napravim nešto što je slično po okusu, ali bi također funkcioniralo i kao ručak koji mogu ponijeti na posao. Uz to sam unutra ubacila i dinstano povrće kako bi cijela priča bila mrvicu zdravija, a količina sira ipak malo razumnija. Sve mi je ispalo baš super, a iako vam se lista sastojaka možda čini beskrajnom, jelo je zapravo skroz prilagodljivo te u njega možete ubaciti koje god već stvari imate kod kuće.

SASTOJCI:

(Za 8 porcija / 6,71 kn po porciji / 53,66 kn za sve)

Za piletinu:

1 pileća prsa bez kostiju i kože (15,00 kn)

½ žličice soli (0,01 kn)

½ žličice svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,25 kn)

1 žlica Srirache (0,50 kn)

1 žlica senfa (0,50 kn)

2 žlice maslinovog ulja (0,66 kn)

Za povrće:

1 žlica maslinovog ulja (0,33 kn)

1 glavica brokule (5,00 kn)

1 velika crvena paprika (3,00 kn)

1 luk (0,75 kn)

Dobar prstohvat soli (0,01 kn)

Dobar prstohvat svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,15 kn)

½ žličice češnjaka u prahu (0,25 kn)

½ žličice sušenog origana (0,25 kn)

Za složiti quesadilje:

8 tortilja (12,00 kn)

1 šalica pesta (6,00 kn)

2 šalice ribanog topljivog sira (6,00 kn)

¼ šalice ukiseljenih jalapenosa (3,00 kn)

PRIPREMA:

Piletinu narežite na tanke filete pa pomiješajte sa solju, paprom, Srirachom, senfom i maslinovim uljem. Pustite da se marinira barem 30 minuta, ali najbolje preko noći. Pileće filete prepržite u tavi pa narežite na trakice.

U istu tavu gdje ste ispekli piletinu dodajte žlicu maslinovog ulja, sjeckanu brokulu, papriku i luk. Začinite povrće solju, paprom, češnjakom u prahu i origanom, pa kuhajte jedno pet minuta da sve omekša.

Kada ste spremni za slaganje quesadilja, namažite svaku tortilju pestom, pa dodajte piletinu, povrće, sir i par kriški ukiseljenih jalapenosa. Tortilje presavijte na pola, pa lagano sa obje strane tostirajte na neprijanjajućoj tavici. Quesadilje također možete zahrskati i u pećnici ako ste ekstra lijeni (kao što sam ja bila, ha!). Poslužite toplo.

Pesto Chicken Quesadillas / Quesadilje sa pestom i piletinom

Lentil and Corn Quesadillas (vegetarian) / Quesadilje sa lećom i kukuruzom (vegetarijanske)

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This isn’t really a recipe per se – it’s more an idea on how to use up random stuff you have around your fridge. It just happens that I had some of this leftover lentil and corn stew and decided to make a new dish out of it by stuffing it in tortillas with a bunch of cheese. This type of dish would work great with any other sort of thick stew, some fresh veggies, leftover roasted meats or veggies and basically anything else you can throw in a tortilla.

It’s pretty hard to calculate the exact price on these, since I used leftover stew, but I’m pretty sure they came out really cheap.

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INGREDIENTS:

(Yields 8 quesadillas)

8 tortillas

4 cups of leftover lentil and corn stew

4 cups of shredded cheese

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METHOD:

Reheat the leftover stew and keep warm while you prepare the tortillas. Place a skillet on medium heat to warm up and toast the tortillas on one side. Keep the skillet warm as you’re gonna use it again in a bit. Spread half a cup of warm stew on one half of a toasted side of tortilla. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and fold the tortilla over in half. Return the tortilla to the warm skilled and toast a bit on both sides, while carefully flipping so the filling doesn’t fall out. Serve immediately. We prefer our food on the burnt side, so always toast things into charcoal.

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Ovo čak i nije pravi recept, više je nekakva ideja na koji način možete iskoristiti razne ostatke koje imate u frižideru. Ispalo je tako da mi je bilo ostalo ovog variva od leće i kukuruza, pa sam to odlučila iskoristiti za novo jelo, i to tako da sam ga utrpala u tortilje sa hrpom sira. Ovakvo bi se jelo dalo napraviti od bilo kakvog gustog variva, svježeg povrća, ostataka pečenog mesa ili povrća, i u principu bilo čega drugog što možete nagurati u tortilju.

Bilo mi je teško izračunati cijenu ovoga jela jer sam upotrijebila ostatke variva, ali sam poprilično sigurna da je na kraju ispalo poprilično jeftino.

SASTOJCI:

(Za 8 quesadilja)

8 tortilja

4 šalice variva od leće i kukuruza

4 šalice ribanog sira

PRIPREMA:

Podgrijte varivo i držite ga na toplom dok priredite tortilje. Stavite tavu na srednju vatru i pustite da se ugrije, pa na tavi tostirajte tortilje, ali samo na jednoj strani. Držite tavu toplom jer ćete ju ubrzo opet trebati. Na tostiranu stranu svake tortilje stavite po pola šalice variva i sira. Preklopite tortilju na pola te ju vratite na tavu. Tostirajte na obje strane, pažljivo okrećući da vam nadjev ne iscuri van. Poslužite odmah. Mi volimo da je sve dobro zapečeno, pa stvari obično tostiramo dok se ne pretvore u ugljen.

Lentil and Corn Quesadillas (vegetarian) / Quesadilje sa lećom i kukuruzom (vegetarijanske)

Burrito Bowls / Burito zdjelice

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These were initially planned to be made as burrito wraps. However, my tortilla making game definitely needs a lot more practice. My tortillas came out too tiny and too thick. Maybe I could’ve wrapped a carrot stick in them. But definitely not all the sauce, cheese and veggies I’d wanted to. Hence I’ve decided to take the bowl route. And what a great journey that has been, ha!

INGREDIENTS:

(Yields at least 8 generous servings / 1,75 EUR per serving / 14.03 EUR for all)

For the meaty sauce:

1 tbsp sunflower seed oil (0.01 EUR)

1 large onion, diced (0.10 EUR)

1 kilo of mixed ground beef and pork – 50:50 (6.67 EUR)

4 garlic cloves, minced (0.13 EUR)

3 large carrots, diced (0.10 EUR)

3 bell peppers, diced (1.33 EUR)

1 can beans (0.67 EUR)

1 can diced tomatoes (0.53 EUR)

1 tsp salt (0.01 EUR)

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (0.13 EUR)

1 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika (0.07 EUR)

1 can corn (0.80 EUR)

Handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped (0.27 EUR)

To assemble the bowls:

1 cup grated cheese (0.67 EUR)

2 cups tortilla chips or 4 tortillas, cut into triangles and lightly toasted (1.33 EUR)

1 cup lettuce, roughly chopped (0.27 EUR)

2 tomatoes, diced (0.67 EUR)

½ cup sour cream (0.27 EUR)

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METHOD:

In a large pot, sauté onion on a medium heat with a tablespoon of oil until softened and slightly translucent. Add in minced meat and break it off with your spatula into small chunks. Cook the meat through for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add in minced garlic, diced carrots and peppers and stir everything thoroughly. Cook for additional 5 minutes before adding drained beans, can of tomatoes, salt, red pepper and paprika. If needed, you can add a splash of water to the pot as well. Just a small heads up, for milder bowls reduce the amount of hot pepper flakes. You can easily add more later on if needed.

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Gently simmer the sauce for about half an hour, so all the tastes can develop, stirring occasionally. Lastly, when the sauce is done stir in drained corn and roughly chopped parsley. Remove pot from heat, taste and adjust seasoning.

To assemble bowls, ladle finished sauce into small bowls. Top sauce with grated cheese, and divide tortilla chips or triangles, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream between the bowls. A scoop of guacamole would also be awesome.

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Ovo sam jelo inicijalno planirala raditi kao burrito. Međutim, moja vještina pečenja tortilja baš i nije nešto. Tortilje su mi ispale sićušne i predebele. U najboljem sam slučaju u njih mogla zamotati komad mrkve. Nikako ne sav umak, sir i povrće koje sam planirala. Iz tog sam razloga odlučila krenuti u smjeru burito zdjelica. I kakvo je to samo čudesno putovanje na kraju ispalo!

SASTOJCI

(Za barem 8 izdašnih porcija / 13,14 kn po porciji / 105,11 za sve)

Za mesni umak:

1 žlica suncokretovog ulja (0,10 kn)

1 veliki luk, narezan na kockice (0,75 kn)

1 kg miješanog mljevenog mesa, svinjetina i junetina 50:50 (50,00 kn)

4 češnja češnjaka, sitno narezana (1,00 kn)

3 velike mrkve, narezane na kockice (0,75 kn)

3 šarene paprike, narezane na kockice (10,00 kn)

1 konzerva graha (5,00 kn)

1 konzerva sjeckane rajčice (4,00 kn)

1 žličica soli (0,01 kn)

1 žličica sušenog čilija u pahuljicama (1,00 kn)

1 žlica slatke crvene paprike (0,50 kn)

1 konzerva kukuruza (6,00 kn)

Pregršt svježeg peršina, grubo narezanog (2,00 kn)

Za složiti zdjelice:

1 šalice naribanog sira (5,00 kn)

2 šalice tortilja čipsa ili 4 tortilje, narezane na trokutiće i lagano tostirane (10,00 kn)

1 šalica zelene salate, grubo narezane (2,00 kn)

2 rajčice, narezane na kocke (5,00 kn)

½ šalice kiselog vrhnja (2,00 kn)

PRIPREMA:

U velikom loncu na srednjoj vatri izdinstajte luk na žlici ulja, da malo omekša i postane staklast. Dodajte mljeveno meso, pa ga sa špatulom izmrvite na sitne komadiće. Prokuhajte meso oko 5-10 minuta uz povremeno miješanje.

Ubacite nasjeckani češnjak, mrkvu i paprike i dobro promiješajte. Kuhajte 5 minuta prije nego što ćete dodati ocijeđeni grah, konzervu rajčice, sol, čili pahuljice i crvenu papriku. Ukoliko je potrebno, podlijte sve sa malo vode. Samo mala napomena, za blaži umak prepolovite količinu čilija. Kasnije po potrebi lako možete dodati još.

Pustite da se umak nježno krčka uz povremeno miješanje oko pola sada, kako bi se svi okusi proželi. Na kraju, kada je umak već gotov, umiješajte ocijeđeni kukuruz i nasjeckani peršin. Maknite lonac s vatre, kušajte i prilagodite začine.

Burrito Bowls / Burito zdjelice