Quesadillas de Camarones

(Shrimp Quesadillas) by Ree Drummond

2 tbsps. olive oil
2 lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails off
Salt to taste
7 oz. Mexican tomato sauce (or enchilada sauce)
1 large onion
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
6 tbsps. butter, for fying
12 large flour tortillas
2 1/2 cups grated cheese (Monterey Jack is best)
Pico de gallo for serving, optional
Guacamole for serving, optional

Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over high heat.  Throw in the shrimp (be careful not to splatter it all over yourself).  Toss around  and cook until the shrimp are opaque, about 5 minutes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and reduce the heat to low.

Pour in the tomato sauce (all I had were Mexican tomatoes in a can so I put them in the food processor, added some cumin and garlic salt and mixed it to make the sauce).  Stir around and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes.  Remove the shrimp from the skillet and chop it into chunks.  Set these aside for a bit.

Heat the remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil in the same skillet over high heat.  Throw in the onion and peppers and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the peppers have a few dark brown/black areas.  Remove the peppers from the skillet and set them aside.

In an iron skillet, sizzle 1/2 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat and lay a flour tortilla in the skillet.  Cover with grated cheese (I used a mixture of block Monterey/Cheddar cheese as that was all I had).

Cover the cheese with peppers . . .

and lay the chopped shrimp on top of the peppers.  When the tortilla is golden, top with a second tortilla. . . 

. . . and carefully flip the quesadilla to the other side (I used a large pancake style spatula), add more butter if you'd like.  Continue cooking until the second side is golden.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas and fillings.

Cut each quesadilla into wedges and serve with your favorite sides or salsas.

Today I commemorated the end of summer.  I know, I know the calendar shows we still have a couple of weeks left but you bloggy chicks aren't helping.  Seems like everyone is coming out with their Fall decor and ideas that it's getting me anxious for Fall to get here as well.  I'm so ready anyways for this Summer to be over.  What with hot flashes and night sweats, as well as a five day power outage for most of the city back in June when the temps were in triple digits, can you blame me??  I decided to pretend I was in lovely Cape Cod, in a beach house with a wrap around porch, feeling the cool seabreeze blowing through, as I eat my favorite seafood.  These quesadillas were a hit with everyone.  Cheesy, plump, meaty, spicy shrimp quesadillas are so delicious.  I served them with some Lobster Rolls, and homemade Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits (which I will blog tomorrow), yum - finger lickin good!!  Well,  I gotta run to a Football Fan Fest my favorite college team is having tonight :)  Yay, football is just around the corner too!!  Have a great weekend and savor every moment!