This is another experiment that worked well, so I chose to save it. Feel free to play around with the ingredients — I’ve used sauteed onions, tomatoes, and garlic with shrimp or chicken for tacos, burritos, etc. Quesadillas are very much a “choose your own adventure” food as long as you have tortillas and cheese!

The scallops in this recipe are the small kind, close in size to chickpeas, that can be found frozen in an international grocery. They don’t sear quite like the much larger kind you usually see in restaurants, but their small size makes them easy to use as filling in a quesadilla or taco.

Seasonings are very much “to taste” as are the topping options.

1 small onion, diced
1 roma tomato, diced finely
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bag of small scallops
handful of fresh spinach, chopped
tortillas
grated, meltable cheese (oaxacan, queso blanco, or even cheddar or mozzarella work well)
olive oil or vegetable oil
salt
oregano
ground cumin
chili powder
fresh cilantro

Toppings (optional):
salsa
avocado
cilantro
sour cream

Heat oil in the pan on medium heat and sauté the onion and tomato, then toss in the garlic and scallops. Sprinkle with salt, crushed dried oregano (a tiny handful), a tablespoon or so of cumin, and chili powder to taste. Stir and continue to cook. Add the spinach and stir in. Cook until the water is almost completely cooked off.

Heat a griddle or a second skillet on medium and lay down a couple tortillas. Add a layer of cheese to half of each tortilla, then a layer of the sauté mix. When the cheese melts, add another layer of cheese on top and fold the bare half of the tortilla over it. Carefully flip it so the other side melts with cheese. Try to get a little brown on the tortilla, flipping back to the other side if you need to. Crisp is good.

Flip onto a plate and dress with chopped cilantro, salsa, avocado, sour cream, or other relevant toppings.