Photo by Jil Davis.
Jil and Brooks Davis raise grass-fed beef cattle in Goochland. They live on a farm in Cumberland County. Brooks is the farmer extraordinaire, and Jil is the PR and business manager--not to mention a fabulous cook. We're excited that she's shared this delicious quesadilla recipe with us, which is perfect for dispelling the February blahs. Thank you, Jil and Brooks, for all that you contribute to our community.
Photo courtesy of ThorneBrook Farm
Jil based these quesadillas on a recipe from Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman), and put her own personal spin on it to make it extra delish! These beef quesadillas will really satisfy your family’s hunger, and they are great warmed over, too. (Don’t you love cook-once-eat-twice recipes? We sure do!)
Here's the “How-To”:
If you’re filling with meat, you’ll want to prepare that first. This recipe used 1 pound of ThorneBrook Farms’ grass-fed ground beef, flavored with taco seasoning and then browned. (Scroll down to the bottom for our easy taco seasoning recipe.) By the way--Jil says that this recipe is excellent made with a pound of their grass-fed chorizo, browned. No taco seasoning needed.)
Arrange the tortillas on a rimmed cookie sheet/jelly roll pan so that they overlap and cover the bottom, but so that they also hang over the sides.
Fill them up with your favorite fillings, including cheese, black beans, and salsa—whatever you crave in a quesadilla!
Photo by Jil Davis
Fold the sides over the filling and then cover any gaps with more tortillas or a top layer.
Photo by Jil Davis
Photo by Jil Davis
Brush the whole thing generously with butter and place another cookie sheet on top to press it down.
Look how gorgeous this looks when it comes out of the oven!
Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or so. Top with more salsa, chopped green onion, chopped tomato, sour cream—whatever you like best. Yummo!
This is an easy and quick weeknight dinner, and easy to work into your meal prep. The leftovers are also wonderful warmed up.
Photo by Jil Davis
Don't just take our word that Jil is a whiz in the kitchen! Follow ThorneBrook Farms on social media (@thornebrookfarmsva) if you’re interested in learning more about grass-fed beef raised the right way, or if you love eloquently written insights into farm life. You'll also love this page if are on the search for recipes that give you great ideas for using this wonderful beef, which we’re proud to offer through our non-profit online market. You can find their grass-fed beef on our non-profit online farmer's market, Fall Line Farms and Local Roots. Click here to visit their page on our site.
HOMEMADE TACO SEASONING: Taco seasoning is easy to make at home, and most people already have the ingredients in their spice cabinets. Just combine 1 tablespoon of Tbsp chili powder with 1 and a half teaspoons of garlic powder, a teaspoon of smoked or plain paprika, a teaspoon of cumin, 1/2 a teaspoon of either oregano or epazote, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Adjust to your taste, and heat it up with your favorite red pepper flakes or some other spicy ground pepper.