Spicy Shredded Beef Quesadillas: Mini Chef Mondays

Happy 2016, everyone! I’m writing this on Sunday evening, and am not quite sure how our Monday will go – it’s the first Monday back after two weeks off of school for the kids, and it’s hard getting back into routine. We’re organized, at least, so hopefully we’ll get out the door on time, and with no tears from any of the 5 of us. :)

This week’s Mini Chef Monday recipe is one that uses leftovers, so it piggybacks off of the simplest Crock Pot recipe ever. We modified a Pioneer Woman recipe to make it even easier than Ree’s, and we think it’s pretty great.

Put about 1.5 pounds of stew meat in your Crock Pot, then follow that with a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and a carton of beef stock. If the meat isn’t fully covered, add a little water, too. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8. Drain most of the liquid, pull out the peppers, and chop up the meat to serve on sandwiches, over grits, or however you like.

Our leftover recipe uses the meat and gives us spicy shredded beef quesadillas. These are SO good, and also nice and simple. You could dress them up with all sorts of things, of course, but we just have tortillas (buttered, because, um, butter), beef, shredded cheese, and caramelized onions (the sweetness really cuts the spiciness nicely). Cook these in a skillet over medium heat until the cheese is melted and both tortillas are golden and crispy. Sooooo good! Here’s the process step by step:

Butter one side of two tortillas; we do this and then face the buttered sides together so then E can put all the toppings on them while they’re still on the plate rather than over the heat of the stove.

Add a layer of shredded cheese (we never measure – just cover the tortilla well but don’t mound it up or you’ll have cheese dripping out all sides):

Then add the beef:

Then onions (unless, like our kids, you’d rather keep it really simple and just have meat and cheese. I won’t judge.):

Then add a little more cheese. Let it sit like this for just a bit until the cheese starts melting and the tortilla feels a little less soft/floppy when you lift up the edge with your spatula.

Put the other tortilla on top and then very carefully flip the whole thing over.

You may have to flip the quesadilla back and forth a couple of times until the tortillas are as golden and crispy as you want them.

Put your quesadilla on a plate, let it cool for about 5 minutes, and then cut it into whatever size wedges you prefer. We do 6 for the kids, or 4 for us.

Yum! Enjoy!

As always, I am hosting Mini Chef Mondays along with 11 fabulous bloggers!

Be sure to check out each of their Mini Chef posts as well. We would love it if you would share your Mini Chef posts with us each week, too! Follow along socially and join in on the fun by using our hashtag #MiniChefMondays to share creations your mini chef created in the kitchen. Additionally, if you have a kid-friendly recipe that kids can easily recreate link up! Don’t have a blog? Share the URL of your instagram photo in our linky below.

1. Homemade Maple Yogurt Recipe // Courtney’s Sweets
2. Jello Play Doh // Momma Lew
3. Best Baked Oatmeal Recipe with Apples and Pears // Baby Loving Mama
4. 3 Bean Chicken Chili // We’re Parents
5. Easy Salmon Recipe That Kids Will Actually Eat // Eating Richly
6. Homemade Chicken Nuggets // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
7. Kid Safety Tips for Kids // Step Stool Chef
8. Avocado Stuffed Potatoes // Vegging at the Shore
9. Gingerbread Cookies and Cream Bars // Mom’s Messy Miracles
10. Applesauce Muffins // O’Boy! Organic
11. Chocolate Covered Pretzel Snowflakes // Can’t Google Everything