When you don't know what's for dinner...

Have you ever stood motionless, in front of your open refrigerator, searching for inspiration? Your stomach is telling you it's almost time to eat. Everyone else in the house is ready to eat too, but you don't have a plan--at least not yet. You're just not hungry for anything in particular so you're hoping something jumps out of the refrigerator and tells you to "cook it." But alas, your food doesn't volunteer. You have to "draft" something, get inspired and get cooking.

Here's what I do. First I look for the main ingredient of the entree. Most likely it's meat or fish. Sometimes it will be a veggie, but probably not unless I don't like the meat and fish selections--or, heaven forbid, there is no meat or fish. Pick one of whatever you have and plop that on your kitchen counter. You don't have to have a vision for what it will become for dinner. Not yet.

Then look for fresh veggies. Just take the ones that look good and put them around the meat. Next stop is the pantry. What's in a can that looks good? What's on the shelf? Pasta maybe? Put the things that look good all around each other and start to think flavorings--spices, herbs, sauces. Can you see something start to come out of the pile? You can recombine things, eliminate some and look for the last added touches or substitutes for the touches so you can make something marvelous--or at least edible.

Concoctions like these are the ones my husband calls "Zola meals." These are also the meals that cross borders. When I have to get creative, I can't limit myself to one nationality. That would stifle my creativity and might delay dinner. These meals are "crossbreeds." I might combine French and Italian, German and American.

And in the case of the recipe today, it's Mexican and Asian. Might sound odd, but it's not that difficult to do and it sure tastes great. Serve these quesadillas as an appetizer, as a lunch or as a light entree, maybe with a salad for dinner. You'll have it ready in a flash. You can grill them outside, or inside on a newfangled grill pan, or in a large saute pan on your stove. Each way works. The grill just gives them a bit more of a smoky flavor.

Asian Grilled Shrimp Quesadillas

Serves 4 as a light lunch or light entree.

Serves up to 8 as an appetizer (one half of a quesadilla each).

1 bunch of scallions
4 oz. baby bella/Cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 slices pre-cooked bacon chopped
1 Tbl butter
2 tsp olive oil
4 oz. can of baby deveined shrimp. (Drain them and rinse them.)
2 Tbl lite soy sauce
8 oz. Mexican blend grated cheese
8 flour tortillas 6-inch size
Olive oil spray

Saute the scallions, mushrooms and bacon in the olive oil and butter on Medium heat. This should take about 5 minutes or until they get browned. Add the shrimp and the soy sauce. Saute two minutes.

Now you are ready to assemble your quesadillas. Place one tortilla on the counter. Spread one-fourth of the mixture on the tortilla and top with one-fourth of the Mexican cheese. Place a second tortilla on top. If you've never made quesadillas you're basically making a tortilla sandwich with your mixture on the inside. Spray the top tortilla with your olive oil spray.

Assemble the rest of the quesadillas the same way. You'll have four of them.

Spray your grilling surface or the inside of your saute pan. Heat to Medium High. Carefully place your quesadillas on the grill. Keep the oiled side up. If you are cooking them in a saute pan, cook them one at a time and put them in the oven to keep warm as they are finished. On a grill you can probably do them all at once.

Grill on Medium until they get the kind of grill stripes you like. I like mine a little more crispy. Watch carefully so they don't burn. Your objective is to "toast" them and melt the cheese. You might have to reduce the heat to slow them down. When the one side is grilled the way you like it, put your spatula under each one--and if you're a novice at this, place your hand on top to steady the quesadilla. Then flip it over. You'll have to flip rather quickly to keep the ingredients from flying out. If the cheese has partially melted, it should stick together pretty well. Then crisp up the other side to your liking.

Remove from the grill (or from the oven where they've been staying warm) and slice them with a long knife or pizza cutter. Make as many pieces as you like. Pieces can be in quarters or even smaller.

Enjoy!