Zucchini Quesadillas

Well I am reaping zucchini big time now, baby!!!

It all started happening so fast.  One day I was doing some serious "distress" research - my zucchini were looking like they were going to be a giant, colossal, prickly, garden-space-hogging failure.  They began just fine, but were ending in a stumpy mess.  However my computer legwork revealed that what was happening was probably squash blossom rot, a sad result of the abundant rainfall we'd recently received.  I just had to sit tight and see if the dry-out time would give them what they needed to recover.  Sure enough, I wound up with what we dubbed "big woman arms of zucchini."

We've had zucchini sauteed in garlic, fried zucchini, zucchini fritters, and zucchini bread.  After giving a few arms away, we shredded up the rest, bagged them in three to four cup increments, and tucked them away in the freezer for winter baking.  Still, the zukes keep coming.  So the other day I decided to tuck them into one of our favorite quick lunch items - quesadillas.  Wow, did this pump up the umph factor!  Snack, nibble, or dine on these tasty tidbits for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or whenever.

Zucchini Quesadillas

2 T olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 cup onion, shaved in slivers
1 medium zucchini
salt/pepper
1/4 cup cut up cilantro
8 flour tortillas
raw cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese your family prefers)

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, toss in the garlic, and stir around for 1 minute.  Add in the onions and saute a minute or two more, till the onion starts softening a bit.  Now add in the zucchini, salting and peppering to taste.  Continue to stir around so that all is evenly cooked.  Toss in the cilantro at the end and stir to distribute.  Place four tortillas on the counter, sprinkle with cheese, then generously divide the zucchini mixture between them, spreading over the surface of each.  Sprinkle a tad more cheese on top to create good sticking power for the top tortilla.
Normally, we cook our quesadillas on a dry surface of a frying pan or comal.  This time, however, I drizzled another fry pan with olive oil, allowed it to heat up, and then placed a ready quesadilla in the pan.  This created a crisp, toasty, fried tortilla.  Your tortilla might begin to rise just a bit as the air pockets within fill with a bit of steam - yummy!  Flipping it over once the first side has achieved golden perfection, I toasted the other side.  Quarter with a sharp knife and serve with salsa and sour cream - and feel good about interjecting some yummy green veggies into your day!

Shared at Works For Me Wednesdays and Simple Lives Thursday