Cake-a-dilla aka Baked Quesadilla

If you are preparing meals for a family this baked quesadilla is a wonder. You can prep this ahead of time and just throw it in the oven when you are ready to eat. You can use any meat (I used ground beef) and vegetables (I used bell pepper, poblano, zucchini, and onion), and you can adjust the spice level. I used alternating layers of shredded pepper jack and shredded Mexican blend cheeses. We topped our slices with salsa and plain nonfat Greek yogurt. You could also top with fresh avocado, guacamole, or queso.

Ingredients:

2 pounds lean ground beef

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

2 bell peppers diced

1 poblano pepper diced

1/2 yellow onion diced

1 zucchini sliced and quartered

1 tablespoon chili lime or other seasoning

8 ounces shredded pepper jack cheese

8 ounces shredded Mexican blend cheese

5 burrito sized 10 inch whole wheat tortillas

Toppings: salsa, plain nonfat Greek yogurt, guacamole, avocado, etc…

Directions:

1. Spray a nonstick pan with olive oil spray. Brown and break up the meat cooking on medium heat. Drain any fat. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the meat and mix it in. Remove from heat.
2. While the meat is cooking, saute the veggies in another nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle chili lime, taco, adobo, or other seasoning over the veggies as they cook.
3. Lay a tortilla in the base of a 10 inch springboard pan.
4. Spread half the meat over the tortilla and top with half of the shredded pepper jack cheese.
5. Place a tortilla on top of the meat and cheese and press down.
6. Spread out half of the veggie mixture on the tortilla and top with shredded Mexican blend cheese.
7. Top with a tortilla.
8. Repeat with another layer of meat and pepper jack cheese.
9. Place a tortilla and spread the remaining veggies and shredded Mexican blend cheese.
10. Top with one more tortilla.
11. Cover with aluminum foil.
12. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes if serving immediately. Then remove the foil and sprinkle another layer of shredded cheese on top of the tortilla. Bake for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese.
13. Allow the quesadilla to rest for 5 minutes before removing the pan around the edges. Slice into eighths.
14. To add toppings I removed the top tortilla. Then added salsa, yogurt, etc… Finally I replaced the top tortilla.
15. If prepping ahead of time and refrigerating then bake for 45-50 minutes before removing the foil.
16. Enjoy!