Great new/cheap/tasty recipe idea

I actually started this post on 9/9/09. My computer froze before I finished it, and then promptly shut itself off. We couldn't get it back on, and my dad took it in to the shop. We got word today that it's been fixed (no idea how much that'll set us back, though). Hopefully more posts to follow more frequently...and with pictures!

I'm really trying to be frugal with what groceries we buy, so this week, I'm trying to use lots of things we have at home already to make meals. Lunch today was a HUGE success.

I decided we'd have quesadillas. Here's how we usually make them....

1. Open package of tortillas.
2. Put one tortilla on a plate.
3. Open shredded cheese.
4. Put shredded cheese on half of the prepared tortilla.
5. Fold tortilla in half.
6. Spray tortilla with spray butter.
7. Sprinkle tortilla with parmesan cheese.
8. Nuke plate with tortilla for 45 seconds.
9. Eat quesadilla.

BORING! Simple, but very boring. I had a little inspiration to dress these up a bit, so I ran with it. Here's the new, creative, frugal way to make quesadillas with stuff we already had on hand.

First of all, we had no shredded cheese. We had a block of cheese, so I grated it myself. We had some black beans in the freezer that I had previously cooked. We had some leftover corn from dinner last night, and we only had one frozen chicken breast (what can you do with one frozen chicken breast that will feed a whole family???). So here's what I did:

1. Boil the chicken breast (I didn't even thaw it out) until there's no pink inside.
2. Shred the chicken using a fork to hold it in place and another fork to shred it.
3. Put corn, black beans (drained), and shredded chicken in a large skillet to heat them up. Season as desired (we used seasoned salt, garlic powder, and onion powder). Move the mixture to a bowl.
4. Brush one side of a tortilla with olive oil. Put the oil side down in the skillet.
5. Top with a thin layer of cheese.
6. Add a thin layer of the chicken mixture.
7. Add another thin layer of cheese.
8. Top with another tortilla, and brush the top of the tortilla with olive oil.
9. Cook on medium heat until the bottom tortilla is browned (it will shrink).
10. Flip the whole concoction over to finish cooking. Quesedilla is finished when the bottom tortilla is browned and shrinks to about the same size as the top one.
11. Cut into triangles with a pizza cutter.
12. Serve with sour cream and whatever random fruits/vegetables you have. We had applesauce and carrot sticks.

I didn't have to buy a single thing to make this, AND everyone liked it. I should get some bonus points or something, because it was healthy!