One way to take a quesadilla from snack to a meal is to add some protein, like chicken, beef, or in this case shrimp. First marinate raw shrimp in a little lime juice and chili pepper. Then sauté the shrimp and add it to your jack-cheese quesadilla along with red onion and cilantro. Serve with some sliced avocado, sour cream, maybe another squeeze of lime juice, and you’re set! If you’re really in a hurry you can use already cooked shrimp. Just toss it with some salt, chili pepper, and lime juice while you grate the cheese and heat the tortillas.
Want to make your own tortillas? Try this recipe: Homemade Flour Tortillas
Recipe and photos updated, first published 2008 If you are starting with cooked shrimp, just toss them with some salt, pepper, chipotle chile powder and lime juice and let them sit while you heat the tortillas. Add the shrimp and cook for half a minute on each side, and remove to a bowl. The shrimp shouldn’t be completely cooked through; they will continue to cook during the next step. Place one flour tortilla on the skillet. Flip the tortilla over a few times, 10 seconds between flips. Air pockets should begin to form within the tortilla. Remove the tortilla and repeat with the second tortilla. Leave the second tortilla in the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Flip the quesadilla over when the bottom tortilla is nicely toasted and the cheese has begun to melt. Remove the quesadilla from the pan when the now bottom tortilla has toasted sufficiently. You can also use just one tortilla instead of two, and fold the tortilla over itself like an omelette.
