Greek Pizza Quesadilla

Today I had a lunch time epiphany! Pizza Quesadillas!! Why have I never thought of this? So simple & yummy, and it caters to individual tastes without a lot of extra work! Yes! Both kid and mama friendly!

I think the key is to use tomato paste instead of sauce. It helps bind it all together without the quesadilla getting soggy. For the kiddos today I made simple cheese & herbs. If we had pepperoni, salami, or ham, I would have added that and some julienned fresh spinach to hide some veg in there. For myself however, I make a Greek inspired pizza quesadilla.  

INGREDIENTS:

2 Flour tortillas

1 tsp tomato paste

3 Tbsp shredded mozzarella cheese

1 Tbsp shedded parmesan

6 artichoke quarters (I used frozen, thawed them, and cut each quarter in 1/2)

6 kalamata olives, quartered

Crushed red pepper to taste

Olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1) Spread a thin layer of tomato paste on one of the tortillas. 

2) Top with mozzarella, artichokes, & olives. Then sprinkle the Parmesan & crushed red pepper. Top with 2nd tortilla.

3) Heat a pan over medium heat, drizzle about 1/2 a tablespoon of olive oil into the pan. Once the oil is shimmering, place the quesadilla in the pan and heat until bottom tortilla has crispy golden brown patches, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook the 2nd side for another 3-4 minutes.

4) Serve and enjoy!

Kitchen Experiments - Cherry Tomato Jam

The other day my cousin came to babysit our kiddos and brought with her some extra goodies from her garden! Just over 2 lbs of cherry tomatoes and 3 giant zucchini. Today I decided to try something new with the cherry tomatoes, tomato jam!

After checking out 1/2 a doz recipes on Pinterest I came across this recipe from Sacatomato and modified it based on our taste & what I had in the house. It came out yummy & I will definitely be making more for Christmas gifts!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 large onion, diced

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

2 large pinched kosher salt

2 lbs cherry tomatoes cut in 1/2

2/3 cup sugar

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp each: 

        minced garlic

        crushed red pepper

        fresh rosemary chopped fine

        fresh thyme chopped fine

DIRECTIONS:

1) In a large stock pot, heat oil over medium high heat. 

2) Add diced onions & sauté until they begin to turn golden. 

3) Add 2 hefty pinches of salt & the red pepper flakes. Sauté for 3 more minutes.

4) Add tomatoes, sugar, garlic, and apple cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, stirring often.

5) Reduce to a simmer and cook stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. The mixture should be much thicker.

6) Add fresh herbs & cook for 10 more minutes.

7) Ladle into hot sterilized jars, leaving about 1/4 inch of head space.  Wipe off the rims of each jar, add the lids on top, and twist on the rings to "finger tip tight".  I used six 4 oz ball jelly jars.
8) Process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes*. Remove jars  to a cooling rack and allow them to cool.  You should hear a ping for each jar which will indicate a proper seal.  The lid will also no longer appear domed. You can store properly sealed jars in your pantry for up to one year. 

* You don't really need any fancy canning equipment - although I highly recommend a jar lifter! For small batches you can do what I do and simply use a stock pot with pasta insert. The key is making sure they aren't touching the bottom of the stock pot (the pasta insert keeps them above the bottom) and are not touching each other. If I have more jars to process than will fit in the pasta insert, I place a few dish towels over the jars that will get processed in the second batch to keep them a bit warm while they wait their turn. Happy canning!