Fancy Quesadillas

My husband has been gone for almost a week and I'm definitely ready for him to be back. He'll be back in a couple of days, so it isn't so bad, and while he's enjoying some absolutely wonderful, authentic Indian food, I made a pretty good dinner, myself. Tonight I cooked up a quick, easy, and light quesadilla with all sorts of delicious stuff inside. This really came about just because I really didn't feel like running down to the grocery store and I just gathered up what I had in the fridge and freezer. Don't you love when something you quickly put together without much thought ends up being great? I know I do, and this is what happened tonight! With the combination of flavors, this was an absolute treat and it didn't take any time to make at all. Try this out when you want a quick meal, or if your just trying to clean out the fridge and freezer :)

Shrimp, Balasamic Caramelized Onions, Arugula, and Goat Cheese Quesadillas
Serves 2

1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz frozen shrimp, defrosted
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium red onion, sliced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
goat cheese, crumbled
arugula, washed and stalked trimmed off
4 small tortillas
salt and pepper
cherry tomatoes, quartered (optional)

First, start caramelizing the onions.

Slice the onions and get a heavy bottom skillet on medium high heat. Add the butter and once it's melted, add the onions.

Once the onions are in the pan, add the sugar and mix everything together. Turn the heat down to very low and allow the onions to cook on very low heat for 20 minutes.

Once the onions are very soft and start picking up some dark color, add the balsamic vinegar. Let the onions cook for an additional 10 minutes.

While the onions are cooking, put the defrosted shrimp into a bowl and add the olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper. Heat a skillet (preferably non-stick) over medium heat.

Once the skillet is hot, add the shrimp. Cook the shrimp on medium-high heat, turning once (about 7-10 minutes, total) until they are thoroughly cooked through. Remove the shrimp from the pan and turn the skillet down to low heat.

By this time, the onions should be finished. Turn off the heat. Now we're ready to put our quesadillas together!

I used the pan that I cooked the shrimp. Put a tortilla into the warm pan (keep it on low to medium-low heat).

Put some of the onions on the tortilla.

Add the arugula, shrimp and optional tomato to the tortilla.

Sprinkle the top with the crumbled goat's cheese.

Add the second tortilla on top and allow the quesadilla to cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the bottom tortilla becomes brown and the goat cheese becomes soft and creamy.

Carefully turn the quesadilla over and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Move the quesadilla over to a plate and cut into 4 pieces. Serve immediately with a little raw arugula on the side.

The flavors in this were so good and really came together beautifully. The onions were soft a sweet, while the shrimp were firm, the goat cheese was creamy and tart, while the arugula was peppery and perfect. I loved how all of the elements came together with the tortillas. This was a great dinner, if I do say so myself (well, and there wasn't really anyone here to disagree...hehe). Try this out... they are fantastic!

Happy Eating!