Cinco de Mayo is upon us, and if you’re planning to rage all night, you’d better fuel up on a little theme cuisine before you start downing the Cuervo. Too broke for Chipotle? Too lazy for Taco Bell? No worries. As long as you can find an iron, some aluminum foil and the cojones to snag a couple Styrofoam cups’ worth of ingredients from the nearest dining hall, you can make crispy and delicious quesadillas in 10 minutes — in your dorm room.
Ingredients (to reduce costs, we recommend scavenging from the nearest cafeteria):
Corn or flour tortillas
Almost any kind of shredded cheese
Various finely chopped vegetables (tomato, scallions, bell peppers, olives, etc.)
Optional: salsa, guacamole, chopped grilled chicken, sour cream
Equipment:
Aluminum foil ($4.17, CVS)
Clothing iron and ironing board
Method:
- Preheat your iron to cotton.
- Lay a tortilla on a piece of aluminum foil. Make sure to leave enough room to fold the foil over later.
- Scatter cheese, vegetables, and whatever other ingredients you could find over one half of the tortilla.
- Fold tortilla in half, and fold foil over it, sealing the edges of the square to ensure that your iron never touches anything but aluminum.
- Place iron on top of foil packet. After about two minutes, carefully flip packet over and cook for another two minutes. You may hear sizzling or other concerning noises, but don’t worry! That’s just the vegetables cooking.
- Feel free to check up on the quesadilla as it cooks — it may take a little more or less time depending on how much filling you put in it. Ideally, you want the tortilla to be golden brown.
- Unplug iron. Open packet, slice the quesadilla in half and enjoy.
Cost: Around $6.00 if you just purchase aluminum foil and tortillas
Other Ironed Cuisine Ideas: tortilla calzones, “grilled” cheese, anything involving nutella.