Carnitas Stuffed Quesadillas For Two Recipe

This shop featuring my recipe for carnitas stuffed quesadillas has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FronteraExperience #CollectiveBias

Raise your hand if your life focuses on everything but you. Ok, go ahead and put your hands down. All of you.

This month is my birthday, and I decided to do something for myself every single day this month to celebrate. Each day, I have something different. They’re often small things, and I’ve yet to do anything overly expensive. These small celebrations renewed my joy in life and in the little things.

I love the encouragement I get from my friends as I post daily on Facebook what I did.  In fact, I may continue this beyond this month.

It should come as no surprise that six days into the month, five of the six “things” centered around food. Food brings me joy, what can I say? Food happens to be my love language, and I’m ok with that.

My husband and I rarely get the chance to connect one on one, but I found the perfect solution. Once a week, my daughter has lacrosse practice and my son has Boy Scout meetings at the same time. He walks to his meetings, and she carpools with other families. That means my husband and I have two hours to spend with each other.

While it’s easy for both of us to keep working – him grading, me blogging – we made the conscious choice to do a date night at home each week. That’s where these carnitas stuffed quesadillas come in.

The last thing we want to do is spend all our time cooking. While we enjoy spending time together in the kitchen, I’d rather sit at the table and chat as we fight over who gets the last quarter of the carnitas stuffed quesadilla.

I want all the flavor but not all the work.

When I discovered these Frontera® Skillets at Target last week while I ran to do our grocery shopping, I had a brainstorm. I love Mexican flavors – witness all the Mexican recipes on my blog – and these offer premium ingredients and time-honored cooking methods in a convenient frozen form. They don’t take shortcuts, but they let me take all the shortcuts I need to have dinner on the table quickly!

Best of all, I loved that I could try these out with a 25% off coupon from Target. Use it yourself now through November 25!

I picked up the Frontera® Carnitas Taco Skillet and the Frontera® Barbacoa Taco Skillet, as those are two of my favorite flavors. Barbacoa is one item I order whenever I can in restaurants but never make at home. This version is a tender, roasted three-chile beef barbacoa. It’s the real deal, and you won’t taste anything like it this side of Mexico City.

While I could have simply cooked up the taco skillet and served it that way, I wanted to do something special, at least for our first weekly date night. After all, I have to celebrate my birthday month, right?

Technically, quesdillas are easy. I love them no matter how simple, however. I feel guilty when I order them from restaurants because I can make them at home so easily. But of many that ooey, gooey cheese and crispy outside call my name every time.

When restaurants make “fancier” quesadillas, I often give in and order them. I never once regret my decision. So when I have a fancy filling via the Frontera Carnitas Taco Skillets, I knew this cried to become a carnitas stuffed quesadilla.

It adds minimal time to the meal, since cooking the skillets takes just 11-13 minutes, we enjoy our time in the kitchen as we make our dinner before we sit down together to catch up as a couple. We have limited time before our kids return, and the Frontera Skillets let us take advantage of it.

I admit, I snuck some of the Frontera Carnitas Taco Skillet before I added it to the carnitas stuffed quesadillas I made. How could I resist the golden, succulent, slow-cooked pork with tangy tomatillos and roasted poblano chiles? You have to taste it to be believe the flavors.

Just like meals I make totally from scratch, this easy date night dinner has flavor from the ingredients I use. When you look at the list on the Frontera Skillets, they read in plain English – and you know I read every label. The quality of the ingredients makes a difference.

These carnitas stuffed quesadillas come together quickly, and there is enough in the Frontera Skillets that I could double this recipe and serve it to friends during one of our frequent gatherings, too. I know they’d love this!

Once I finish them off, I add a little Frontera® Double Roasted Tomato Salsa to a ramekin in the center of a plate. This makes a perfect dipping sauce.

Of course, I love guacamole with my quesadillas. Thankfully, the Frontera® Original Guacamole Mix makes it easy to whip up a flavorful guacamole. Simply pit and mash avocados and stir in the mix. Then add a dollop to your quesadilla and close your eyes in bliss.

How to Make Carnitas Stuffed Quesadillas

Start by turning your stove to medium heat with a saucepan. Add the oil, then the Frontera Carnitas Taco Skillet and water. Cook, stirring occasionally for 11-13 minutes. Once the sauce thickens, check the pork to ensure it’s at 165 degrees.

Remove from heat and use a wooden spoon to mash the pork to shred it. It’s truly that tender!

Heat a griddle to 350 degrees. Place two tortillas on the griddle. Add just enough cheese to cover each tortilla. Add carnitas mixture and spread over the cheese.

Add another layer of cheese, slightly thicker than the first. Top with the second tortilla.

Cook for 3-5 minutes until the bottom tortilla is lightly golden and crispy. Use a large spatula to flip. No omelet toss with quesadillas, as fun as that is!

Cook another 3-5 minutes, then place on a cutting board. Use a pizza cutter to slice into clean quarters.

Place on a tray around the Frontera Double Roasted Tomato Salsa and serve immediately.

Have you ever tried carnitas stuffed quesadillas? What’s your date night fave?

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