Ham Cocktail Quesadilla

Every now and then I forget to go food shopping, and have to improvise a meal with whatever is on hand. Sometimes the results come out pretty good. This instructable outlines a recent success, with an unusual twist on the classic quesadilla. My girlfriend is a very picky eater, and she absolutely loved it, which was the main reason I decided to share the recipe.

These are the ingredients I used (remember, I was rummaging) - feel free to substitute to taste.

Ingredients listed are for one Ham Cocktail Quesadilla

1 Tortilla
1 Green Onion
Shredded Cheese (I had mild cheddar)
1 Package of Buddig sliced ham (lunchmeat)
Approx. 2 Teaspoons of Cocktail Sauce
Non-Stick Cooking Spray

Some other ideas if you don't have cocktail sauce:
- horseradish sauce
- some salad dressing (This will be thinner... use less so it doesn't run out while eating)
- mustard (spicy like Grey Poupon would probably be better than yellow hotdog kind)
- mayo
- spaghetti sauce or marinara

Herbs that would work well with ingredients I used:
- Basil
- Garlic powder (would be easy to overdo it... use very small amount)

Chop green onion into small slices.

Since ham was pre-sliced, I simply cut the whole stack into 1/2 inch squares.

1. Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Set burner to Awesome. (for me this was halfway between Medium and Medium-High)

3. Throw tortilla into pan. Every 20 seconds or so during entire cooking process, lift pan and gently shake to make sure tortilla isn't sticking.

4. Spread about 1 teaspoon of cocktail sauce thinly over tortilla

5. Add ham and green onion

6. Wait about 30 seconds or so for ham to heat a little. Add Cheese.

7. Add second teaspoon of cocktail sauce. (Drizzle over top)

Periodically lift the edge of the tortilla. You want it to toast a little, as this not only adds a wonderful flavor, it also lets you know that the insides are fully warmed. I blackened mine, which I like - if you want it less toasty, you'll need to constantly check the underside. Once it starts to toast, it blackens very quickly.

Rotate the pan as you're checking. This will keep the heat distributed evenly. If you keep lifting the same edge over and over, you may have a cold side when done.

Put on a plate and immediately fold over. Use a spatula and caution. The quesadilla will be crazy hot.

I found it helped to push on the plastic spatula with my fingers. The spatula insulated my fingers from the heat, and my fingers added much needed pressure to the bendy plastic.

Enjoy!