Quesadilla

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 packet taco seasoning mix

1/2 onion finely diced

tomato paste

1 garlic clove minced

1/4 head of cabbage finely shredded

lard

tortilla shells
mozzarella and cheddar cheese, shredded

salsa (medium)

sour cream

Direction:

Place ground beef in skillet and brown at medium heat. I prefer regular or medium ground beef as it is fattier. Use spatula to break into small pieces. Add taco seasoning mix. I use Old El Paso taco mix which requires 3/4 cup of water. I also add some tomato paste, but this is optional. Mix thoroughly and allow liquid to thicken a bit in the skillet. Transfer the beef mix to a bowl. The mix should be quite fatty which is what you want. You'll use the oil to fry the tortilla shell like they do with birria tacos. I usually take a spoon and scoop up as much of the oil that floats to the surface of the beef into a separate container.

In the skillet, place lard, cabbage and garlic. Cook at medium to high heat to get the cabbage to brown/burn slightly. There is a certain scent when cabbage is caramelized. This only occurs when it is cooked at high heat. Once cooked, move to a bowl to free up skillet.

Take a silicon brush and spread the beef fat over the surface of the skillet. Place a tortilla shell in the skillet. Place cheese on half the shell followed by a thin layer of beef, raw onions and cabbage. Place another layer of cheese on top. Fold tortilla shell forming a half circle. Fry at low heat until the bottom is browned. Flip and fry the other side.

Cut into three triangles and add dollops of sour cream along with your favorite salsa. I prefer the flavour of Pace medium salsa, but find it a bit too much liquid. I often add chopped tomatoes, onions, jalapeno peppers and cilantro to make it chunkier.

Addendum: I've made this several times now with a slight modification. I use smaller tortilla shells that are approximately 7-8" in diameter. Additionally I mix the beef, cabbage, onions and cheese together. I then spread the filling on half the shell and fold it in half and press flat. There's 10 shells per package so I make all ten of them for later consumption. Just put them in a tupperware and refrigerate. Great when you have the munchies late at night. Since they are already premade, just pull a couple out of the refrigerator and fry. It takes only a few minutes to cook.