Picadillo Ground Beef Quesadillas

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Servings: 12
Yield: 12 servings

Description

These picadillo-style ground beef quesadillas are packed with comforting flavor and will fill you up, whether it's for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

1 medium potato, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons olive brine
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup sliced pimento-stuffed green olives
3 tablespoons raisins
cooking spray
12 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Directions

1 Place diced potato in a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain.
2 Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add cooked potato and brown on all sides for about 3 minutes. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
3 Add ground beef to the skillet; cook and stir until browned, crumbly, and no longer pink in the center, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper, onion, and garlic; cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain as much fat from the pan as possible.
4 Stir in tomato sauce, water, olive brine, oregano, salt, and pepper until well combined. Add olives, raisins, and reserved potatoes; stir well. Reduce heat to low and simmer picadillo for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5 Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Place a tortilla in the hot skillet and cook until browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
6 Spread about 1/4 cup hot picadillo on one half of the hot tortilla. Top with Mexican cheese, then fold tortilla in half, pressing down with a spatula. Cook until cheese is melted, about 1 more minute. Repeat to cook remaining quesadillas.
7 Cut each quesadilla into 3 triangles to serve.