This recipe is straight up from Blue Apron, but I keep making it again and again so for simplicity’s sake I am recreating it here, with some tweaks of my own of course (jalapenos instead of shishito peppers, and I added some peppers and onions for extra vegetables). My favorite thing about this recipe is the spice mixture!
Prep this beforehand
Spice Blend Ingredients:
- 3 Parts Ground Cumin
- 2 Parts Smoked Sweet Paprika
- 2 Parts Garlic Powder
- 1 Part Onion Powder
- 1 Part Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Part Ground Coriander
- 1 Part Ground Cinnamon
If you’re just cooking the beef, only buy ingredients above and including the scallions. If you want to make it with the Corn and Pepper Salsa buy everything!
Ingredients (serves 4):
-
16 Ounces Ground Beef
- 3-4 Flour Tortillas
- 4 Ounces Cheese of choice, or blend of cheese (I opt for the latter with Cheddar, Asiago, Queso Blanco, and Monterey Jack)
- 2 Tbs Tomato Paste
- 3 Tbs Spice Blend, divided (2 tbs for beef, 1 tbs for peppers)
- 2 Scallions, thinly sliced, white bottoms separated from green tops
- 1 small onion, sliced in rings then sliced in half
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- 6 Tbs Olive Oil
- 2 Ounces Jalapenos, Shishito Peppers or Poblano Peppers, or a spicier pepper of your choice, ribs and seeds removed and diced
- 2 Ears Of Corn, kernels sliced off the cob
- 1 Lime, zested and cut in quarters
- 2 Tablespoons Sour Cream
In a large frying pan, heat up a 2 tbs of olive oil. Add the beef, breaking it up with a spoon, and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for about 4-6 minutes or until cooked through. Add 2 tbs of the spice blend, white scallion bottoms, tomato paste, and 1 cup of water. Cook for another 4 minutes or until saucy and blended together. Set meat aside.
Add 1 tbs of olive oil to same pan, and add the onions to cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the sliced peppers and cook until done and slightly browned, about 8 minutes. Mix in 1 tbs of the spice blend, then set aside.
Add 2 more tbs of olive oil to the same pan. To this pan add the jalapenos (or whatever other spicy pepper you chose), corn kernels, and green scallion tops. Sauté for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in lime zest. In a large bowl combine the sour cream and juice from 2 quarters of lime. Stir to mix and season with salt and pepper. Add the corn and pepper mixture to the large bowl of sour cream and lime juice.
If you like sour cream like I do, make a separate bowl of 2 more tbs of sour cream mixed with the remaining lime quarters. I like to put this on top of my quesadilla when it’s done.
Now to make the quesadilla! Take a flour tortilla, and on one half sprinkle some of the cheese mixture. Put some of the meat on top, then the pepper and onion mixture and top that off with more cheese (I completely eyeball this, put as much or as little as you want!). Fold the tortilla over once. Heat up a pan with 1 tbs olive oil, and cook the quesadilla about 2 minutes on each side, or until the cheese as melted and the tortilla is slightly browned.
Remove from heat, cut the quesadilla in thirds, and serve with the lime-infused sour cream and corn and pepper salsa on top or on the side. Enjoy!
Hilary's Kitchen 