Chorizo & Cheese Quesadillas

Chorizo is a kind of Mexican Style sausage that is a little bit spicy.  It is really good in quesadillas, especially when there is lots of good Mexican Queso Fresco, a kind of Mexican cheese.  You can make your quesadillas crispy or soft, whichever you like the best.  My friends and I chose to make them crispy.  We used a quesadilla maker for some and a frying pan for some.  They both turned out great.

Ingredients and Equipment Needed:

1 10 oz. package Mexican chorizo sausage 4 10-inch flour tortillas 1/4 cup butter, or vegetable oil 2 cups queso fresco, or cheddar jack cheese, grated Garnishes Shredded Lettuce salsa sour cream	Frying Pan for the sausage Kitchen Scissors Strainer Small Bowl Large Frying Pan for the Quesadillas or a Quesadilla Maker Pancake Turner Cheese grater Lettuce Knife Pizza Cutter Serving Plates

How to Make Chorizo & Cheese Quesadillas:

1.  Use a pair of scissors to snip the ends of the chorizo sausage package.	2.  Use the scissors to cut the plastic off of the sausage.	3.  Dump the sausage into a frying pan.	4.  Turn the stove to medium heat and use a giant fork to break up the sausage as it cooks.  As you can see, this is really greasy stuff!  We'll be draining the grease off when the sausage is cooked.

5.  If the sausage starts to pop and spatter, cover it with a spatter screen if you have one.  It will make it easier to clean up the stove.	6.  While the sausage is cooking, grate the cheese.  It is kind of crumbly, so if you don't want to grate it, you can just crumble it with your fingers.	7. When the sausage is cooked, pour it into a strainer over the sink.	8. Use the fork to press the grease out of the sausage.

9.  Once you press the grease out of the chorizo, transfer it to a bowl.	10.  Butter one side of each of the tortillas.	11.  Put a large skillet on the stove and turn the heat to medium.  Make sure it is large enough to hold a tortilla.	12.  If you have a quesadilla maker, then you can heat that instead of the frying pan.  Put one of the tortillas, butter side down, on the quesadilla maker or in the frying pan.

13.  Sprinkle a little sausage over the tortilla.  Don't put too much, since it's pretty spicy and you only need a little bit.	14.  Sprinkle some of the Queso Fresco cheese over the tortilla.	15.  If you're using a frying pan, you add the sausage and cheese just the same.	16.  Put a tortilla on top of the cheese and chorizo.  Make sure the butter side is up.

17.  Do the same if you are using the quesadilla maker - butter side up.	18.  Close the lid on the quesadilla maker.	19.  If you're cooking the quesadillas in the frying an, use a pancake turner to press the quesadilla down so that as the cheese melts, it sticks together.	20.  Use the pancake turner to see if the underside of the quesadilla is browning.  This is perfect!

21.  Carefully turn the quesadilla with the pancake turner.  You may need a little help from an adult.	22.  While the other side is cooking, cut some lettuce in small pieces.  It's best when sliced, but be very careful with the knife.	23.  When the quesadillas are done, use a pizza cutter to cut them into wedges.	24.  Put the quesadillas on a plate with some sour cream, salsa, and lettuce.

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