Share Shrimp Quesadillas stuffed with melting goodness and just a hint of heat.
Shrimp Quesadillas – Calling Me Home
Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler, was the delightful selection we read for book club this month. I love how we stumbled onto this book. We chatted up another book club member as our group was heading into a movie together. While we swapped titles we’d each read, she mentioned this book as one of their group’s favorites. As it so happens, the movie we were all attending was called Book Club (of course.) Knowing there are no coincidences, we felt destined to give Calling Me Home a shot. So glad we did. Fast forward, and it’s time to share some good eats and discuss our book.
Appetizers
Our book club gathering kicked off with wine and a few light appetizers, including these Marinated Feta and Veggie Skewers. Simply thread marinated feta onto skewers with a selection of veggies. I used cherry tomatoes, mini cucumber slices and olives. You can add whatever else sounds good or have on hand. If you can’t find marinated feta at your deli, you can make your own, like I did. Marinated mozzarella would be another great option.
Next we moved onto Mini Artichoke Tarts, another easy creation. Stir a 6.5 oz. jar of drained, marinated artichokes into artichoke dip (I used a 10 oz. container of Parmesan Artichoke Jalapeno Dip.) Spoon into mini fillo shells, top with a little Parmesan and bake for 15-20 minutes. Finish with a sprinkle of fresh snipped chives.
Shrimp Quesadillas & Watermelon, Jicama Salad with Tequila Vinaigrette
What makes this such a great recipe, is that Shrimp Quesadillas work as either an appetizer or a light main course served with a side like Watermelon, Jicama Salad with Tequila Vinaigrette. The filling can be created up to a day ahead and then combined with the sautéed shrimp just before filling the tortillas. A quick pan browning and you are ready to enjoy. The original recipe actually calls for 8 ounces of lobster. To make them more economical, I use shrimp. I also use 16 ounces of shrimp when I am serving these as a main course.
Scoops of Lemon Ice Cream and vanilla ice cream were served with Lemon Basil Sugar Cookies for dessert. A sweet finish to another evening of great discussion and camaraderie.
Shrimp Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 4 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- 1 1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1/4 c. chopped cilantro use fresh basil if you prefer
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
- 1 tsp. lime zest
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 c. chopped seeded plum tomatoes
- 1/4 c. sliced green onions green part only
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 2 tbsp. minced seeded jalapeno (I added 2 tsp. minced hot pickled jalapenos because my fresh jalapeno had no heat)
- kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 16 oz. coarsely chopped cooked shrimp (I buy raw, deveined shrimp, season with salt & pepper and saute in olive oil and butter. Let cool to room temperature before combining with cheese mixture.)
- 4 flour tortillas 7-8″ in diameter
- olive oil cooking spray
Instructions
- Mix first 10 ingredients in bowl to blend. Season mixture with salt & pepper. This mixture can be made 1 day in advance. Cover and chill. Bring back to room temperature before continuing.
- Mix cooked shrimp into cheese mixture and spread over half of each tortilla. Fold tortillas in half and press gently to seal.
- Heat oven to 300 degrees.
- Coat large, heavy or nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place on stop top with burner set to medium heat. Working in batches, cook quesadillas until cheese melts and tortillas are golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Place quesadilla on baking sheet and keep warm in oven as you finish cooking the rest of the quesadillas. When completed, remove quesadillas from oven and let cool for a minute or two. Cut into wedges and serve. Enjoy!
My wife and I love this meal! Crunchy on the outside and moist and cheesy in the middle! A whole bunch of flavors working well with each other!
So glad you enjoyed it. I snagged this recipe from a cooking class and adapted it from lobster to shrimp to make it more affordable. It’s one I ❤️ too!
Quesadillas were creamy & delicious! Excellent flavor balance.
Thanks for the feedback! This recipe has been a hit with a number of people.
These Shrimp quesadillas are wonderful! Super easy and wonderful dipped in your favorite Tex-Mex sauce
Tex-Mex sauce sounds like a great embellishment.
I love your recipes!! When I tried to print the pork string bean dinner it just shows a blank page even though I subscribed to your BLOG!! Do these recipes print out?? PS I don’t want to give out too much info!
Glad you like the recipes but sorry you’re having trouble printing them. I am able to print them successfully but another subscriber has had the same issue with printing. What type of device and browser are you using to print? I can reach out to the author of the recipe app to see if there is some known issue/bug fix.
These look delectable, everything you serve does. I loved the photo with kay, the glass of wine looks as big as her head!
I never noticed the head-sized wine glass before you mentioned it. Sometimes life calls for such things! 😉
Most excellent meal and time spent with good friends! Quesadillas were especially yummy! I will definitely be making those soon and often!