Simple dinners that have a rock-star element are my favorite. Quesadillas are so easy and most likely aren't considered anything special (although we kind of live on them for lunches) but are brought up a notch with this amazing salsa that you throw together just minutes before dinner. We also love this salsa with tortilla chips. So, throwback to yesteryear... "make yourself a dang quesadiLLa" (emphasis on the L's) and add in some of this salsa, and your kids will have a new favorite dinner!
Steak Quesadillas with Pineapple Salsa
Serves 4
3/4 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak
salt and pepper
Mexican shredded cheese
4 gluten-free flour tortillas (our favorites are Mission and Rudi's)
For Salsa:
1 large tomato or 3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups cubed fresh pineapple
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Season steak with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill outdoors or sauté in a skillet until desired doneness; slice into thin strips. Combine salsa ingredients together. Refrigerate until using. In a large skillet, warm the tortilla, then sprinkle with cheese and steak strips. As cheese begins to melt, fold tortilla in half. Cook a few minutes on each side to brown the tortilla and completely melt the cheese. Cut into wedges and serve with the salsa.
Step-by-step tutorial:
Gather your ingredients. You will need some sirloin steak (doesn't have to be anything to expensive or fancy.....I love the thin cut options), shredded Mexican cheese, gluten-free tortillas, a tomato, fresh pineapple, onion, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Season the steak generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Rub it into the meat.
Grill the steak to desired doneness. This can also be done by simply slicing into thin strips first, then sauteing in a pan.
After grilling, slice into thin strips. As you can see, we like our steak cooked medium.
Chop the tomato, 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple (you can save the remainder of the pineapple for something else), 1/2 cup onion, and 1/4 cup cilantro.
Combine in a bowl, then add the 2 tablespoons lime juice. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes. This gives it just a little bit of heat that adds to the sweetness and makes this AMAZING. Of course, if your kiddos don't like any spice, simply omit the red pepper flakes.
What a beautiful bowl of goodness! I can eat this by the spoonful.
Now, cook your quesadillas. I let the tortilla warm in the pan a bit first, then sprinkle the whole thing with cheese, and cover half of it with the strips of steak.
Once the cheese is starting to melt, fold the tortilla in half and cook a few minutes on each side until the tortilla browns a little and the cheese is completely melted.
Cut into wedges and serve with the salsa, sour cream, and some tortilla chips!
You most likely will not have any of this salsa leftover, but if you do, just store it in the refrigerator and sneak some in the middle of the night. 😉
Recipe Source: Recipe adapted from a recipe from Simple and Delicious magazine.