Shiitake and squash quesadillas

Ah squash, perhaps the most abundant vegetable ever.  After sighting the first one of the year I made a commitment to use this summers lengthy squash/zuchinni season as an opportunity to innovate! I want to make squash exciting!  Here's take 1........

Squash and shiitake quesadillas

1 large squash sliced

2 cups shiitakes (caps only)

1/2 onion thinly sliced

1 green pepper thinly sliced

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 cup cheddar cheese

4 flour tortillas 

Heat oil in skillet, add in shiitakes cook until shiitakes begin to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add in squash, onion, and pepper.  Cook for 5-10 minutes until vegetables are softened.  Remove vegetables from pan.

Place 1/4 cup of veggie mixture and 1/4 cup of cheese on a flat open tortilla.

Place flat tortilla in a lightly oiled skillet set to medium heat. Cook until cheese is melted, fold and them cook until crispy on each side.  

Some quesadilla tips.....

Until recently I've had bad luck with making crispy quesadillas so this time I scoured the Internet for some crispy quesadilla techniques, here's what I found. 

1. Less is more,  don't put too many goodies inside your quesadilla or it will have trouble staying together.  About a 1/4 cup of filling plus cheese for a 10 inch tortilla is ideal.

2. Less is more part deux.  Though we all love cheese too much will make your quesadilla oily and soggy.  Stick with a lighter sprinkling, just enough to bind both sides of the quesadilla together.

3. Don't use too much oil.  Lightly coat the bottom of the pan with oil.  Use just enough so that the tortilla doesn't stick. 

4. Start with a flat open tortilla, not a folded one.  This allows you to place the ingredients on the tortilla and have the cheese bind them in place without everything falling out.  After the cheese has bonded the ingredients together you can fold the tortilla and crisp both sides. 

Hope this helps everyone!  These were lessons long learned for this girl, glad I can share!