I didn’t think there was such a thing as bad pesto

I was wrong.  There is such a thing as bad pesto.  I guess that’s what I get for grabbing the first pesto I found while sprinting through the Genuardi’s yesterday.

Thankfully though, it didn’t totally wreck our dinner.

After hearing a lot of excitement from you guys last week when I shared that souper (oh my gosh of COURSE I would make that pun!!!) recipe for Rachael Ray’s tortellini soup, I thought that maybe I would start posting easy recipes over here.  The basic stuff that Boo and I eat on a regular basis, our go-to dinners.

That being said, here is what I made with the not-so-tasty pesto.

Italian Quesadillas (on a bun!)

This recipe is actually an adaptation of one of my staple dinners from college, hence the name.  But, to make it a little more filling, we used kaiser rolls instead of tortillas.

Ingredients:

Chicken breast (we used 1 breast for both of us)

Roasted red pepper strips

Shredded mozzarella

Pesto

Mayonnaise

Kaiser rolls

Directions:

Grill/saute the chicken breast (We sauteed last night because the pan was already out, we’re that lazy.  But yes, the grill pan will work just as well for this sammie).

While chicken is cooking, cover the bottom bun with the shredded cheese and place under the broiler (oven or toaster oven, whichever you have) until the cheese starts to melt.

Spoon some mayo into a bowl (about 3 tablespoons) and then add about 1 tablespoon of pesto.  Mix together.

That’s it for prep.  The cheese should be melted before the chicken is done so pull the bottom bun out from under the broiler and plate.  Then spread the pesto mayo on the top bun.  When the chicken is done, shred it up into bite-sized pieces.

Stack onto the bottom bun and (if you’re fat kids like me and Boo) sprinkle more shredded cheese onto the chicken.

Top with roasted red pepper strips and enjoy!

Now, if you like a little green on your sandwich, fresh spinach would be a perfect addition to this sandwich.

If you want the lighter version of this, you can assemble it on a tortilla the way I used to in college.

Sprinkle the cheese and chicken onto one half of the tortilla and put under the broiler.  When the cheese is melted, pull the tortilla out and spread the pesto mayo on the other half of the tortilla and fold in half.  Put back under the broiler for a few more minutes (but not too long because hot mayo is just grosssssss!)