This is my first post in more than 10 days.  I think that’s the longest I’ve gone since starting my blog but hey, sometimes life gets in the way of blogging!  🙂  Luckily I had lots of good things going on at the beginning of the year which means that I’m just now getting around to posting about some of the foods and activities that we’ve enjoyed in 2013 thus far.  First up: Buffalo Chicken Sausage Quesadillas!

The quesadillas were super-easy to make and they were cheesy, crispy and had just the right amount of heat thanks to the Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce that we found at the grocery store.  To temper the heat and acheive that classic “buffalo” experience, we dipped the quesadillas in low-fat blue cheese dressing and had a few celery sticks on hand when we wanted some crunch.  For the filling we used a pound of Maiale’s buffalo chicken sausage that we had been saving in the freezer from the Farmer’s Market last summer, but if you don’t have access to actual “buffalo” sausage you could easily substitute regular sausage or even shredded chicken in — just use some of the Frank’s Red Hot inside of the quesadilla to get that extra kick!

Buffalo Chicken Sausage Quesadillas (makes 4 large quesadillas)

You will need…
1 pound Buffalo Chicken Sausage, fully cooked and chopped into small pieces
Peanut Oil, for coating pan between quesadillas
4 large “burrito” sized Flour Tortillas (12-13″ diameter)
Approx. 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (or Colby/Monterey mix)
1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce, for dipping
1/2 cup Low-Fat Blue Cheese Dressing, for dipping
4-5 stalks Celery, cut into 4″ sticks

Directions:
Heat a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat.  Pour a small amount of peanut oil into the bottom of the pan (just enough to thinly coat it) and allow it to heat up.  Carefully place one tortilla in the bottom of the pan and evenly spread about a quarter of the shredded cheese over the entire tortilla.  When the cheese starts to melt arrange a quarter of the chopped sausage onto one half of the tortilla.

When the cheese has melted completely use a spatula to carefully flip the cheese-only half of the tortilla over top of the sausage.  Press down lightly on the top of the quesadilla to help hold everything together.  At this point the quesadilla is basically done but you may want to flip the finished quesadilla over in the pan until both sides are golden brown and crispy.  Remove the finished quesadilla from the pan and repeat the entire process (starting with the thin layer of oil) for your other 3 tortillas.

Cut the quesadillas into wedges and serve with buffalo sauce, blue cheese dip, celery, and a cold beer.  Enjoy!