Cheese tacos are our stand-by what-do-you-make-when-you-haven’t-really-thought-about-it-in-advance lunch. There’s always a stack of corn tortillas in the fridge. There’s almost always cheddar or jack cheese. I’ve noticed that most of my friends regularly make a quick sandwich for lunch. Maybe once a month I’ll make a sandwich. Three times a week I’ll make cheese tacos. (What? You don’t have a stack of tortillas in your fridge?)
You Can Put Anything in a Tortilla and Call It a Taco
Usually cheese tacos just have cheese in them. Add some salsa and you’re done. My cheese tacos tend to be a little more elaborate. I stand by my rule that you can put almost anything in a tortilla and call it a taco. (Note that in many parts of Mexico, what we are calling a cheese taco would be considered a quesadilla. In Northern Mexico however, and for most of in the U.S., quesadillas are made with flour tortillas, not corn tortillas.) Here’s my very special cheese taco recipe. My grandmother made cheese tacos this way; my mother still makes cheese tacos this way.
Cheese Tacos Secret Ingredient
What’s the secret ingredient that give these cheese tacos such good flavor? The ingredient my mother, grandmother, and I have insisted on using with these tacos our entire lives? Butter. Butter usually does make everything better, right? There’s no exception here. We butter the corn tortillas before softening them up in the frying pan. We usually eat corn-on-the-cob with butter, don’t we? Same idea. As for the extra cheese taco fillings? I’m the only one in the family who puts slices of apples in her tacos which usually prompts turned up noses from everyone else. Like I said, you can put anything you want in a tortilla and call it a taco, and I like apples and avocados in my cheese tacos. Using a spatula, quickly flip the tortilla over to the other side, and back again, repeating until there is melted butter on both sides of the tortilla. Let the tortilla sit in hot pan until pockets of air start to form bubbles in the tortilla. Quesadilla recipe
