Made in about thirty minutes, this delicious cheesy ground beef quesadilla recipe combines savory seasoned ground beef, tender corn and gooey cheese all toasted between layers of golden brown tortilla. Yum!
Ingredients
½teaspoonoilolive oil or other cooking oil
¼oniondiced
1poundground beefI prefer 90/10 but 80/20 can also work
8inchflour tortillasI used “soft taco sized”, anywhere from 6-8 inch tortillas works best
3cupscheddar cheeseor Monterey jack cheese, about 8 ounces
Instructions
In a large wide pan or large skillet, place the oil and warm it up over medium high heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the diced onion to the oil and saute for 3-4 minutes or until the onion begins to brown.
Place the ground beef in the pan and begin browning it. After a minute or two and the ground beef has started to brown, break up the ground beef and continue stirring until it is no longer pink, about 4-5 minutes. Drain any excess grease from the meat.
Place the pan back over low heat. To the ground beef add taco seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, salt, tomato paste, salsa and frozen corn. Turn the heat on the burner up to medium-high. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the corn is warm, then turn off the burner and set the pan of meat to the side.
Place a tortilla in the middle of a large cutting board. Add a sprinkle of cheese (about two tablespoons) to half of the tortilla. Add a few spoonfuls of the ground beef mixture (about ¼ cup) over the cheese then top with another sprinkle of cheese (about 2 tablespoons.) Fold the tortilla in half to make a half moon shape. Repeat for each quesadilla.
Turn the heat to medium high and spray a clean skillet lightly with oil. Place a quesadilla carefully in the pan and heat each side for about 1-2 minutes or until golden brown, then remove with a spatula and set to the side. Repeat with each quesadilla until they are all golden brown, adding a little more pan spray about every two quesadillas. (The first quesadilla almost always takes a little longer to brown, and each one tends to brown a little faster than the last when cooking.)
Slice each quesadilla in half into triangles, then serve and enjoy!
Notes
I prefer a leaner ground beef like 90/10. If you use a ground beef like 80/20 I recommend draining the beef well and then placing on a few layers of paper towels to help remove any excess oil.