Fast Food Monday

Angie and I have taken to calling Monday – Fast Food Monday. This habit started because it is the one day of the work week where we both get off work about 5 and can actually have dinner together but as it is Monday and we have both worked all day, neither of us really wants to cook.

Periodically Angie makes huge batches of spaghetti sauce and freezes it in one meal portions. For a very long time, Fast Food Monday = Spaghetti. Getting a little tired of spaghetti every Monday, I started to toss in a periodic Shrimp Scampi on Mondays, which we consider Fast Food because cooking time is only 9 minutes and even with prep the scampi comes together in about 20 minutes.

I’m getting real tired of pasta so last night I decided to change it up some – soooo, what can I throw together in less than 30 minutes that does not come out of a can or box? Solution – Quesadillas!

OK, you sort of have to think ahead on this one.

• Do I have a chicken breast in the freezer?  Yup – take that out before noon! 
• Guacamole – you can’t just make it and eat it – it needs to set for a while for the flavors to blend! Take 10 minutes during your mind day “lunch” break and slap some together. 

If you do these things – then after 5:00, you can have Fast Food Quesadillas!

I won’t call this a recipe, but here is my process:

Guacamole:

• 2 ripe avocados
• 2 TBLS of small-diced red onion
• 1 clove of garlic finely minced
• ¼ tsp of kosher salt
• ¼ cup of chopped Italian parsley (I don’t really like cilantro but that would be what most people use)
• 1 Lime

Scoop out the avocado into a bowl; add the onion, garlic, salt and parsley/cilantro; squeeze in the juice from the lime; then mash it all together with a fork until you get it to the consistency you want.

• Note - Consistency of the guacamole will likely depend on what kind of day you are having so far. On a good day it is nice and chunky. On a bad day it could get pretty smooth because mashing it is good anger therapy.  

Quesadillas (feeds 2)

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• A generous pinch of red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)
• Shredded Mexican Cheese blend
• 1 tomato – diced
• ¼ (about) of a diced red onion
• 1 14-oz can of black beans.
• 3 large flour tortillas
• Lite olive or grape seed oil (don’t use EVOO it will smoke and taste like my mother made it, and you don't want that!)

Cover the bottom of a small skillet with oil (about 2 TBLs), add the red pepper flakes, and place over medium to medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, generously season the chicken breast with salt and pepper, toss it in the pan, and let it cook (turning once).

Important – Make sure the skillet you use is designed for searing. The searing brings a lot of flavor to the party. Most non-stick cookware does not sear well, so use stainless or a sear rated non-stick such as Calphalon Unision.

While the chicken is cooking, dice the tomato and onion, and heat the beans in a small sauce pan.

The chicken is finished when the center reads 160 with an instaread thermometer (no higher, it will continue to cook while it rests). It should have a good sear on both sides. Take it out of the pan and let it rest 5 minutes. Once rested, slice it diagonally along the bias into approximately ¼ wide strips.

Now that you have everything sliced and diced, lightly brush 1 of the tortillas with oil and place it oil side down in a large non-stick skillet. Generously sprinkle cheese over the entire tortilla surface, and then arrange the sliced chicken, diced tomatoes and onions, and black beans over one half.

Fold the cheese only half over the top of the covered half, let it cook on the first side for a couple of more minutes, then flip it and cook the second side for another 2 minutes. Remove to a cutting board and cut into three triangles. Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas and you end up with 9 Quesadillas in under 30 minutes – and these are better than any quesadillas I have ever had from hotel room service!

With just Angie and I, this feeds us both with one or two left over for lunch the next day.