the review: quesadillas and chili-rubbed pork roast

I’ll be honest. I’ve been a bit of a cruddy mom today. I was behind in writing up reviews, behind in photo editing (or at least the learning part of photo editing) and couldn’t get on the ball to get our weekly menu out before late this afternoon. My husband did the grocery shopping, the leaf raking, and the study group carpool. I forgot to wake up the little kids from nap. Yep, my kids definitely deserve a trip to the park tomorrow. If they ever go to bed.

Grocery shopping done (thank you, honey) by 4:30, we got in the kitchen. The pork prep was simple – rub here, rub there. You’re done. Get in there and get dirty.

We cooked the pork entirely on the grill tonight because it is supposed to snow this week. One last hurrah. If you have nice weather, go ahead and grill it on high for a few minutes per side then turn it down and cook for another 15-20 minutes. If not, grab a grill pan to give it a nice brown crunch, then throw it in the oven as directed. We’ve done it both ways. Still tasty.

While your grill is heating, you can make the quesadillas. I like to have the cheese mixture made in advance and the tortillas stuffed before putting the pork on the grill/grill pan. Just throw everything in the bowl and mash it a bit. If you have picky eaters, don’t tell them what’s in the quesadillas. This is what I did the first time we made this. I can’t count how many times we have made these quesadillas since or how many times it has been because the kids requested them.

Add a little jalapeño. You will be glad you did. If you can’t find small tortillas, large ones folded in half work great. You can grill the quesadillas also or you can just cook them on the stove in a little non-stick sauté pan. No oil, butter, etc. required. Keep the cooked quesadillas in the oven (200°) to keep them warm until you are finished.

Dinner was on the table by 5:30. Way early, I admit. I think we might have forgotten lunch today. Those quesadillas were gone in no time and one of my three-year olds had three servings of pork. I'd call that a success.