Five-minute meal for the overscheduled Joe College and Jane Q. Barnard.

Dear Reader, 

Are you tired? I’m tired. It’s week five. Everyone is tired and everyone is sick. I am sick. I am writing to you from my bed; somewhere across campus, class started six minutes ago, but I am languishing in my excused absence and will soon slip into a foggy trance. What easy meal could I possibly muster up while in this state, I wonder, as I slip away.

Did you hear that? It’s my alarm clock, waking me from a much needed nap. I had a dream, Dear Reader, and it was beautiful. I dreamt of a time long ago, a day when my life was improved by leaps and bounds and my lunch prep time slashed in thirds. It was a day not unlike this one when my housemate, ever the bearer of gifts, served me a quesadilla with egg. The thought of it already makes me feel revitalized.

Dear Reader, I have a secret to share with you, and it is simple and easy and friendly to the sick, the ailing, the overworked Barnumbia student. The secret, Dear Reader, involves only three ingredients, some oil, and salt & pepper. It is endlessly repeatable; it is amenable to augmentation and is a fine receptacle for the protein of your choice; best of all, it is a perfectly adequate snack-meal that requires minimum effort to pull off. 

The basic recipe presented here uses egg as a protein because that’s how it was first served to me. The egg quesadilla is well-suited to breakfast, another great way to use this recipe. If you’d like to swap egg for a meat, just throw some (PRE-COOKED!) protein into the quesadilla instead of an egg.

LET’S GO!

Ingredients:

  • Flour tortilla
  • Monterey Jack, Cheddar and/or Quesadilla cheeses. If you don’t want to shred, a three-cheese mix will do fine as well (that’s what I use).
  • Egg
  • Olive oil
  • Salt

Instructions

  1. In skillet, heat a layer of oil over high-medium heat. Oil should cover the bottom of your pan, but greasiness is at your discretion. I use the minimum amount of oil required to coat the pan.
  2. When the oil is hot, place the tortilla in the skillet. Our goal with this step is to lightly brown each side of the tortilla, preparing it to receive the cheese. I usually flip it in 20 or 30-second intervals until light brown spots appear and/or the tortilla puffs up.
  3. Place your cheese into the tortilla! Thickness of layer is again at your discretion! How much do you like cheese, Dear Reader?
  4. Once the cheese is mostly melted, close the tortilla. If you’re satisfied with the browning, transfer it to a plate. If not, leave it in the corner. Don’t forget to watch it while your egg cooks!
  5. Now use the available space in your pan to fry the egg: use some more oil (if necessary, which it probably will be) and crack the egg straight into the pan. Cook to your preferred level of yolk hardness. I flip my egg once so it finishes over easy.
  6. Open your tortilla on a plate, transfer the egg onto it, add salt and pepper to taste (or whatever else you like), and close ‘er up. You’re done! Enjoy your beautiful snack-meal.

In-Progress Quesadilla Photo via Bwog Staffer