Tonight, I had every intention of making BLT sandwiches for dinner. Dennis usually has a PB&J sandwich on Thursday nights before his games and Kylie and I will either head to Chipotle or eat something that isn’t fussy or too much work. Well, Kylie texted me to say she wanted to visit with her cousin after school and that she’d be hanging out with Maddie this evening. Madeline lives close to the college that Kylie attends, so it’s nice that they can get together when they are both free.

I must say I became a little giddy with the idea that I’d have the house to myself for a few hours with no one to worry about cooking for, or anything for that matter. I’m not one that relishes being home alone for days, but a few hours in the evening, every once in a blue moon, is totally fine with me.

Leftover roasted potatoes should never go to waste. There is so much you can use them for! Since Kylie would be out and Dennis at his game, I decided I’d make use of some leftover roasted potatoes I had in the refrigerator from last night’s dinner and make a quesadilla out of them. I also had a couple jalapeño peppers left in a package and happened to just purchase a block of pepper jack cheese.

I also had some shredded, light mozzarella cheese that I bought to use on a pizza last week, so I chose to mix that with the pepper jack. I like to use light cheese when I can to cut down on the fat content. If you would prefer to use all pepper jack, by all means, please do. Pepper jack cheese reminds me of when I lived at home, growing up in Wisconsin. It’s a cheese that my mom would put out with crackers when her and my dad had friends over, so it holds great memories of fun times for me. And, sometimes, I like to have the things on hand that I know my mom had on hand when I was growing up.

I started by cutting the potatoes into smaller pieces than the chunks they were cut into for roasting last night. I laid them on top of the shredded, light mozzarella cheese that I sprinkled onto the bottom tortilla.

I then cut two jalapeño peppers. I kept the seeds in one of them and removed the seeds from the second. Normally, I remove all the seeds, but as I said earlier, I had the house to myself and didn’t have to worry about this dish being too spicy for Kylie or Dennis. I love the spice, so wanted to include the seeds with my quesadilla. I think a little spice is always nice with a mild potato, gives it a little kick! I laid the jalapeño slices on top of the potatoes, also sprinkling fresh cilantro over the top. I also chose to sprinkle a little Chile lime seasoning over the potatoes and jalapeños for a little extra flavor.

I then added some shredded pepper jack cheese and placed the top tortilla onto my quesadilla and placed it into a large, hot skillet that I had heated a tablespoon of olive oil in.

Knowing how well sour cream pairs with potatoes, that is what I used as my condiment for the quesadilla. I always use low-fat sour cream, but please feel free to use any that you like.

I would love to write a cookbook with all quesadilla recipes … there are so many ways you can prepare a quesadilla. You can eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Ingredients

leftover roasted potatoes

2 jalapeños, sliced (seeds removed if desired)

1/4 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded

1/4 cup light mozzarella cheese, shredded

cilantro

Chile lime seasoning, a sprinkle

1 tablespoon olive oil

light sour cream

Directions

1. Cut leftover roasted potatoes to fit in your quesadilla.
2. Slice jalapeños and mince cilantro. Shred cheese.
3. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Lay bottom tortilla in pan.
4. Lay shredded mozzarella cheese over the bottom tortilla, topping with the potatoes. Add the sliced jalapeños, cilantro and the Chile lime seasoning.
5. Place second tortilla on top of quesadilla.
6. Heat until cheese is melted and bottom tortilla is starting to brown on the bottom.
7. Carefully flip the quesadilla over to brown the other side.
8. Enjoy with a dollop of sour cream and more cilantro.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris