Mushroom Quesadillas

This is an old one my mom used to make that I decided to dig up for Mike, since he loves mushrooms. For some reason when this recipe is made the men in our family start eating it and inevitably say something about chicken, "is this the one with chicken?" "I think these would be better with chicken"... well, they are mushroom quesadillas so they don't have chicken.


These are very easy to make, but no, they do not have chicken in them. Try them this way, see if you think it needs chicken, if so cut the number of mushrooms and add chicken!


Ingredients:
1/2 pound mushrooms - whichever kind you prefer
1 poblano pepper
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup salsa
2 tablespoons red onion, diced
4 tortillas
3 slices of provolone cheese, cut in half - or whichever kind you prefer (I would have used pepperjack if I had it!)
Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chili powder
Cayenne pepper to taste
Salt and pepper to taste


Start with a hot skillet, add the butter and wait for it to melt. Dice the onion and the pepper, and mince the garlic then add all three to the pan, as well as the mushrooms, chili powder and cayenne pepper. Stir until the chili powder and cayenne pepper are more or less evenly dispersed among the mushrooms. Add in the garlic, salsa and add some salt and pepper. Stir occasionally until the mushrooms are fully cooked.


I used what I like to call the panini press fake out for this - it's a pan that has the grates, but doesn't have anything more than a heavy top you press onto the top tortilla. It's perfect for this. If you don't have a pan like this that's ok, you can use a regular skillet, or you can bake these in the oven at 350 until they are crispy.


I greased the bottom of the pan, and put down a tortilla, then added half of the mushroom mixture. Then I added 3 of the half slices of provolone, and a small handful of parmesan. I then greased the top piece of my pan, and added the top tortilla, and placed the heavy top onto the tortilla. Then I turn the heat on my stove to medium and let it cook until the cheese is good and melted, which takes about 5-7 minutes. Repeat for the second one, cut with a pizza cutter, and enjoy!


The mixture when done in the skillet...

The finished product...