Turkey Green Chile Quesadillas

This was the first year that neither of our 20-something daughters came home to celebrate Thanksgiving, and we attended a massive potluck dinner at a friends' house. So there was no need to cook a big meal at home on Turkey Day. 

But that didn't stop us from making Thanksgiving foods during the next several days, including crockpot cranberry sauce, date pudding, pumpkin pie, and a 19-pound turkey. After we ate two meals we put half of the remaining meat in the freezer.

This week, I defrosted more turkey and dreamed of warmer weather as the Kansas City area plunged into the season's first deep freeze. I scoured the refrigerator and cupboards for ingredients and then developed this quick and easy recipe. Serve with black beans, a green salad and a margarita.  :)

Turkey Green Chile Quesadillas

Makes two large quesadillas

4 flour large tortillas (VOE - I used whole wheat)

2 cups turkey (or chicken), diced

1/4 cup red onion, minced

1 small can green chiles, pureed

1/2 cup mozzarella, grated

3-4 large Italian canned tomatoes, diced

minced cilantro as garnish

Make filling in a large bowl, combining turkey, red onion and green chiles. Heat a dry skillet to medium and lie one tortilla in the pan. Top with 3/4 cup filling and spread to half inch from the edge. Spread 1/4 cup cheese on top and then put second tortilla on top.

Cook until cheese melts, about 4-5 minutes, *flip quesadilla, and then cook 2-3 more minutes. Remove from pan and make a second quesadilla. Cut both into six pieces. Top with tomato and cilantro. Add sour cream, black olives, and fresh avocado or guacamole for more flavor.

*VOE - I used two spatulas with long 'blades' in order to flip the quesadilla, but I'm not very good at it. If you feel the same way, try making four smaller quesadillas by filling 1/2 tortilla and then flipping other half over the filling to make a half circle. This will make the flipping easier.