Recipe of the Week: Mexican Rice Quesadillas

I have a few cooking blogs that I read religiously because one, I love everything to do with food, and two, I aspire to be as awesome of a cook as some of these bloggers!  I recently came across a recipe for Mexican Rice Quesadillas that looked DELICIOUS, but a little complicated.  The Mexican tomato rice and beans were homemade and involved about a million ingredients that I don’t think I could find even if I scoured every student kitchen on the Marist campus.  I knew there was no chance of me having the time or the money to recreate that, so I figured Uncle Ben would probably have a reasonable alternative for me.  And I was right!  I scooped that Sante Fe style rice off of the shelf in aisle nine quicker than you could imagine.

My housemates decided to skip out on family dinner this week and go to Applebee’s instead, but it’s okay because they definitely regretted it after they saw my yummy homemade creation.  They missed out, but you shouldn’t…try this recipe tonight!

Mexican Rice Quesadillas

Adapted recipe and photos by Culinary Chronicles of a College Kid.blogspot.com

Original Recipe by For the Love of Cooking.net

Serves 1

• 2 tortillas (I suggest whole wheat if you want a little more flavor)
• 1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1 package Uncle Ben’s Sante Fe rice
• Cooking spray

Heat a frying pan or skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.  Cook the rice according to package instructions.  Spread half of the cheese over one of the tortillas (I used Monterrey Jack instead of the recommended Cheddar because I thought it would be more festive, ha).  Place the rice on top of that, and then sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the rice.

Place the second tortilla on top of the first, and then place on the heated skillet.  Once the bottom is golden brown, flip it over and let the other side cook.  The quesadilla should be done after a total of about four minutes on the skillet.  Let cool for a minute or two before cutting into slices.

Kim was the only housemate around to try them and she had no comment except "good."  They left her speechless :)
Kerry: "Oh those look so good!  I wish I didn't ditch family dinner night for Applebee's." Okay, she didn't actually say that, but I could read it on her face...

These were so good and so easy that I will most likely be making some kind of quesadilla variation again during the week.  Check back soon for another idea on how to use up the rest of your tortillas!  Hint…it may involve some grilled fruit (peaches?) and chicken.

Total time: 8 minutes…seriously