Cali Turkey Burger Quesadillas

It’s officially spring but mother nature has not yet received that memo. She is being a pain in my butt with the cold and the SNOW that we have been having. I have a love/hate relationship with living in New England as I hate the long drawn out cold weather that mess with us long into March and April. And yet, I just love the spring and fall seasons. Can’t win them all I guess. But at this point I wouldn’t pass up at trip to California to escape this cold weather right now.

Plus, if I was in Cali I’d sure as hell be attending the Sprint Cup race this weekend in Fontana. A little of shopping in L.A. and a whole lotta fun watching the Auto Club 400 race in Fontana. Of course I would hope for another win for Kasey Kahne because I’m still loving his win from last weekend in Bristol. yay!! But since I can’t cheer him in person I’ll take a mental trip there by making these Cali Turkey Burger Quesadillas for this week’s edition of Sprint Cup Snacks.

There is a restaurant near my office that had a summer special when they first opened that I just loved. They made a burger quesadilla that was sooo good! It was so flavorful like a taco but was a totally a burger in a tortilla. I guess it wasn’t a typical quesadilla as it was wrapped up but it just made it so easy to eat. It’s kinda like a quesadilla wrap or a flat burrito. Whatever, it is just good!

This is super easy to make which is always great when your whipping up a quick weeknight dinner or just distracted watching the race. ha! The burger is so flavorful with all the toppings on top. I picked toppings that reminded me of a California Club with the bacon, tomato, red onion, and avocado. And, of course, a quesadilla has loads of cheese!

Don’t wait another year for another Fontana Race to make this burger but your family. This is great anytime for lunch or dinner. 

Cali Turkey Burger Quesadillas

Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 generous teaspoon adobo seasoning
• 4 burrito sized flour tortillas
• 12 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 slices of cooked bacon
• 1/2 of an avocado, thinly sliced
• tomato, thinly sliced
• red onion, thinly sliced

Process

1. Combine the ground turkey and the adobo seasoning. Form 4 equally sized patties. Make the patties very, very thin and about 4″ across.
2. Grill the burgers until they are about 2 minutes from being cooked through.
3. While the burgers are cooking microwave the burrito tortillas for about 30 seconds to make them vary soft and playable.
4. Place some of cheese in the center of the tortilla. Then add the burger, bacon, tomato, onion, avocado, and cheese onto the burger. Fold opposite sides into center and then repeat with the remaining sides.
5. Place the burger with the fold sides down back on the grill with a weight on top of the burger to seal it closed. Flip over to other side to warm though to melt the cheese and add grill marks.
6. Cut in half prior to serving.

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{Sprint Cup Snacks Track Facts}

The Auto Club Speedway is a fairly new track in the Sprint Cup Series. Construction started in 1995 and the first Sprint Cup race was in 1997 with Jeff Gordon winning the inaugural race. Originally the race was 500 miles but since then has been shorted to 400 miles. It is the only Sprint Cup race in Southern California, which is just 50 miles from downtown LA.

Track: 2 miles

Shape: D-Shaped Oval

Banking: 11 degrees in the front-stretch, 3 degrees in the back-stretch, 14 degrees in turns

Surface: Asphalt

Capacity: 91200

Race: 200-lap for 400-miles

2012 winner:  Tony Stewart

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