roast beef quesadillas

As promised, here is a great "second use" for your leftover beef pot roast. I hate to admit it, but I think that I actually like these quesadillas more than I liked the pot roast! The quesadillas came out a little pricey (well, pricier than my usual meals) due to a few expensive ingredients: beef, red bell peppers and cheese. Over all it is still a budget byting recipe because A) it utilizes leftovers and B) it is still half (at least) the cost of what you would pay if you bought this at a restaurant.

If you didn't make any pot roast this recipe would also be great with some chopped up (and well seasoned) grilled chicken. I would suggest using either a cajun seasoning or fajita seasoning for your chicken. Not only will I be eating the rest of my pot roast this way but I will probably also earmark some of the chicken in my freezer to make these again later!

Special Note: I used about 1/3 of my total cooked pot roast for four of these quesadillas. To calculate the cost of that meat, I added the cost all of the pot roast ingredients MINUS the vegetables (carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, onions) and divided it by three. It's not the most accurate calculation but it is the closest estimate possible.




Total Recipe cost: $9.37
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Cost per serving: $2.43
Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 50 min. Total: 1 hr.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1/3 recipe (1 lb. raw weight)	cooked pot roast	$4.90
4 medium (burrito size)	flour tortillas	$0.71
8 oz.	pepper jack cheese	$1.98
1 medium	red bell pepper	$1.06
1 medium	green bell pepper	$0.25
1/2 medium	red onion	$0.21
2 Tbsp	olive oil	$0.21
a pinch	each salt & pepper	$0.05
TOTAL		$9.37

STEP 1: Adjust your oven rack so that it is 5-6 inches below the broiler coils (that is the second level on mine). Preheat the broiler to 400 degrees. Slice the red onion 1 inch thick and place it on a baking sheet. Cut in half and core the bell peppers and place them on the baking sheet. Drizzle 2 Tbsp of olive oil over the vegetables and spread it over them so they are completely covered in oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the vegetables. Broil the vegetables until they are blistered and slightly blackened (20 min).

STEP 2: When the vegetables have cooled, slice them into strips. Begin to build your quesadillas by layer 1 oz. of cheese over half of a tortilla. Next, layer pieces of the roast beef followed by some of the roasted vegetables and lastly, one more ounce of cheese. The cheese is the glue for the quesadilla so you want some on the bottom and some on the top.

STEP 3: Fold the empty half of the tortilla over the fillings and place it in a dry skillet. Turn the burner on to medium heat and cook each side of the quesadilla until it is brown and crispy and the fillings have heated through (3-5 min each side).

STEP 4: Either slice the quesadilla into triangles or leave whole. Sides of salsa or sour cream are optional.

Step By Step Photos


Roast the vegetables under a 400 degree broiler until they are blistered and blackened. Slice into strips once cooled enough to handle.


Begin the quesadilla with cheese on the bottom (only cover half of the tortilla so you can fold it over later).


Next comes the roast beef.


Then add your sliced roasted vegetables.


Top it with some more cheese to hold it all together. Fold the tortilla over top and transfer the quesadilla to a hot skillet.


Cook the quesadilla on each side until it is crispy and brown and the fillings are hot and melty! YUM!


It's big, beefy and DELICIOUS.


Whole or sliced, it's your prerogative.