Turn tonight into a Mexican fiesta with these ground beef quesadillas

Cooktop Cove: Turn tonight into a Mexican fiesta with these ground beef quesadillas

By Matt Jenner

Put a little more pep in your step when you cook and eat these delicious and totally addictive ground beef quesadillas. These popular handheld treats work well to serve as lunch, dinner, or a snack any day of the week, particularly on Cinco de Mayo! Zesty ground beef joins other traditional Mexican ingredients and nestles in between two warm tortillas for a mouthful of flavor in every bite. This meal idea works well for kids, who love to help choose how much of each ingredient should go in their personal quesadilla.

Quesadillas can vary greatly, and of course each can be altered according to the eater's tastes, but this recipe combines ground beef, black beans, onion and cheese in the filling for a true Mexican flavor. If you're not into ground beef, use chicken, steak or pork. Or keep it vegetarian and add a dollop of guacamole. Kick up the quesadillas by adding a few shakes of your favorite hot sauce to the ground beef mixture.

Ground Beef Quesadillas

15 minues

10 minues

25 minues

1 pound 80/20 ground beef

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 white onion, diced

Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon taco seasoning

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 can (8 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon water

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

4 large flour tortillas

8 ounces shredded Mexican cheese blend

1 lime, cut into wedges

Sour cream

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.

Add ground beef to the skillet, and start to break it up using a spatula.

Add the onion and garlic to the skillet, and season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined, and allow to cook until the onions are softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add taco seasoning, tomato paste, black beans, and 1 tablespoon of water to the skillet. Stir to combine and reduce heat to medium-low. Allow filling mixture to simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.

Add in the cilantro. Mix in until cilantro becomes fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Heat a clean nonstick pan over medium heat or a pan greased with nonstick cooking spray.

Place one tortilla flat in the pan. On half of the tortilla, sprinkle some of the cheese, followed by the beef mixture, and topped again with more cheese.

Fold the tortilla in half, forming a half-circle, and press down using a spatula or plate. Heat on both sides until tortilla becomes lightly browned and crispy, and the cheese is melted.

Repeat this process with the remaining tortillas, beef and cheese until you use everything.

To serve, precut quesadillas into triangles or serve out the half circles individually. Garnish with fresh lime wedges, sour cream or more fresh chopped cilantro.