This post is sponsored by Old El Paso.
Today may be Wednesday, but it feels like a Friday in my book because I'm heading to Portland tomorrow! Which, after Memorial Day this past weekend, officially makes this a 2-day work week for me.
Actually, I'm heading to Portland on a work trip, but it's the fun kind. I'm going to be speaking on a panel at the Indulge Conference about one of my favorite subjects — food photography! Actually, I'm going to be sharing about the post-processing side of food photography, which is basically everything that happens after you snap the shots. I'm certainly no pro, but I've actually come to really enjoy working in Photoshop over the years, and love geeking out with other bloggers over the little tips and tricks I've learned over the years. As soon as I find some spare time this month, I'm hoping to add some of the material I'm covering to my Photography Resources page here on the blog, so stay tuned.
Before I leave town, though, I have a tasty new breakfast recipe to share with you. It's yet another excuse for me to eat Mexican food for breakfast, it's easy to make, and — bonus! — it's also freezable.
Why, it's breakfast quesadillas, of course!
Speaking of food photography, I must admit. There are far more quesadillas here on the blog than I actually make in my house because they're annoyingly hard to photograph. Triangles + flat surfaces with the filling inside + super white on top does not equal an easy subject to photograph.
That said, quesadillas are hands-down one of my favorite quick and easy meals that I make regularly, usually to use up leftover ingredients as fillings. But for something different this week, I decided to try a breakfast twist and fill them with some of my favorite Southwestern and breakfast-y ingredients.
Feel free to use whatever sounds good to you. But for mine, I went with shredded cheese, scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, a Southwestern blend (red peppers, corn, black beans, onion, jalapeno), and Old El Paso flour tortillas. Unfortunately, I had an overripe avocado fail which didn't make it in, but next time mine will have avocado too.
Bake them up in the oven (or saute them on the stove) until the cheese is nice and melty and binds all of those ingredients together.
Then serve them up with some salsa for dipping! They're super colorful, flavorful, and full of protein to help get you through the day. And again, you can also pop them in the freezer to save for a quick and easy future breakfast, if you'd like.
This Southwestern Breakfast Quesadillas recipe is simple to make, full of great flavor, and it also freezes and reheats well!
Brown the breakfast sausage in a large saute pan according to package instructions, crumbling it with a spoon as it cooks so that it is ground into small pieces. Transfer the cooked sausage to a separate plate with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Reserve 1 tablespoon of grease, then discard the rest.
Add the tablespoon of grease back to the saute pan, along with the diced bell pepper, onion, and jalapeno. Saute over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft and cooked through. Transfer mixture to a separate plate, and set aside.
Return saute pan to the stove and add the whisked eggs. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the eggs are scrambled and cooked. Remove from heat and set aside.
Lay two tortillas out on a parchment-covered baking sheet so that they are not touching. Sprinkle ½ cup of shredded cheese evenly on top of each tortilla. Then portion the scrambled eggs evenly between the two tortillas, spreading them out evenly on top of the cheese. Continue likewise with the bell pepper mixture, cooked sausage, black beans, corn, and the remainder of the shredded cheese (in that order). Top with the remaining 2 tortillas.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted all the way through the quesadillas, and the tortillas begin to crisp slightly around the edges. Remove from the oven, then cut into sixths with a knife. Serve immediately with salsa and/or sour cream on the side for dipping.
This is a sponsored post in partnership with Old El Paso. I am partnering with them to create some fresh new Mexican recipes this year, and all opinions are 100% my own as always. Thanks for continuing to support the brands who help make this site possible.
Yay! I am heading to Indulge this weekend too, I am so excited to meet you!
And these breakfast quesadillas are looking SO much better than the boring bowls of oatmeal that I've had for all the breakfasts before it. Anything Mexican is always a winner with my taste buds! Pinned!
Can I come over for breakfast? These quesadillas look divine.
These look delicious and easy to make. I definitely need to add more recipes to my breakfast repertoire. A handful of carrots and half bagel with peanut butter gets old after a while.
I can relate to loving food photography. I wind down at night by looking at food photos on Flickr. Your photos are always gorgeous! Love the bright white background.
Enjoy your time in Portland!
These quesadillas sound great. Hope you have a great trip to Portland!
Thanks, Susan, I'm so excited!
Yum – these look delicious!
Good luck at your conference, and I can't wait to see your photo tips here on the blog. Your food photos are always so great.
Have a great time in Portland, Ali! I can't wait to read more of your photography tips! PS: Breakfast quesadillas look totally additive!
You really put a wonderful zip into a new breakfast treat. This looks delicious. Quesadillas have become a new favorite with me. I find this quite appealing!
Thank you, Carol! Hope you enjoy it!
oh my! Wonderful! I just had a large dinner & I am drooling anyway! I have made the roll up version of this but yours is far, far more appealing. Regarding the photography: Just as beautiful. Probably hard to photograph but the angles & colorful ingredients made the photos pop! Excellent across the board. Tomorrow morning i'll be singin Spanish praises to you!
Can be frozen, too! Perfecto!!
If I want to freeze them – at what point do I do that…before or after baking? Then reheat in the microwave or oven? I'm sort of a dummy when it comes to freezer meals.
No worries at all! Go ahead and assemble them, just make sure you've allowed everything that goes inside the quesadilla to cool down completely, before you start assembling them. You can either go ahead and cook the quesadillas, then allow them to cool completely, then freeze, and reheat them in the microwave. (If you do this, don't worry about cooling the filling before assembling, just make sure everything has cooled before you freeze). OR, you could just cook and cool the filling, then freeze, and cook in a skillet when you're ready to heat them later. I hope none of this was too confusing!
We are in a breakfast rut! This will be a great addition to our breakfast menu…. kids love quesadillas any time of day.
Thank you, I hope you and your family enjoy them!
Quasedilla is one of the most favorite breakfast item in my family, and I can use any and every item that I found delicious in this recipe. I sometimes use jalapeno and matured cheddar cheese to add a special zing to it.
Jalapeno and cheddar are excellent additions!
Just made these and took them camping this past weekend, individually wrapped in foil to reheat (didn't take pictures because they were too messy to photograph, but the messiness most certainly didn't take away from the flavor). I can't imagine a better combination of breakfast flavors — the hot sausage and all of the veggies was great. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Thanks, Alina! We're so glad they worked out for you on your camping trip!
Um yummy! You have really great photohs! I feel craving for every dishes in your photohs, haha. Thank you for the recipe also! I cannot wait to cook to try it myself. It's perfect for a delicious and healthy breakfast. Thanks so much for sharing! Look for more posts from you.
These look delicious and easy to make. ! cannot wait to try them!
Wow… What a beautiful cake!!! It looks like magic to me!
This just stopped my heart. So freaking beautiful. So freaking delicious sounding! You're a genius!
Yum Yum Yum, I love me some quesadillas.
These look AMAZING!! My mouth is watering.. Must try these. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Olivia! We hope you enjoy them!
This quesadilla, packed with southwestern flavors, is a healthy and protein-packed way to start the day. A breakfast packed with protein, these Southwest Chorizo Breakfast Quesadillas are big, bold, and the perfect way to get your morning going.
I love this recipe for my breakfast and dinner time. These Breakfast Quesadillas with bacon, egg, and cheese are an easy breakfast or dinner idea your family is sure to LOVE!It is the perfect snack with eggs to spice up your morning. Wow, really it is amazing for any pretty You can substitute add or take away pretty much anything. It's easily modified for the pickiest of eaters. I used whole grain tortillas and cooked the bacon in the oven and used sharp cheddar for the cheese.