Mushroom Quesadillas

I didn't always love mushrooms.  In fact, there was a time when I couldn't stand them.  Now the smell of mushrooms browning in butter on the stove makes me salivate!  I don't care for them raw, but there's still time for that to change.  I wanted to do something different for lunch, rather than our normal salami, tomato, and pepperoncini pita sandwiches that I feel like we've been having every week, but mind you they are GOOD...

...so I dug up this recipe for Mushroom Quesadillas.  I remember bookmarking this awhile ago since it struck my interest with the simple addition of chili powder. 

You start by browning the mushrooms in butter by not moving them at all for the first 5 minutes, so they develop that golden brown hue.  After tossing them around so as to brown all sides, they are seasoned with chili powder and salt.  Add some chopped cilantro (I added more than the recipe called for, but I love cilantro), and the filling is done - extremely simple.

The next step was new for me.  I've never cooked quesadillas in the oven before, but I decided to give it a try.  First you warm the tortillias a bit over your gas burner, just until it blisters to give the tortilla that slight crispness that complements the gooey inside of a quesadilla.  Next, place shredded jack cheese on one half, top with the mushroom/cilantro mixture, and then finish it off with a sprinkling of feta cheese.  Fold them over, put a piece of foil on top of the quesadillas and let the oven do the work of melting the cheese.  They came out wonderfully, but not really sure I need to do them in the oven next time.  Stove top quesadillas work fine for me.  It was a great lunch on a beautiful spring day.