You know how there are just some foods that are life-changing? As in, “How the heck did I live my life without it”? Well friends, I’m about to introduce you to a food (or rather an entire brand of food) that is now a permanent part of my fridge.

Introducing Burnett Dairy and Wood River Creamery cheeses!

I was sent a sample pack of this cheese a month or so ago and instantly fell in love. I’ve always had a soft spot for great cheese, and this cheese is SO good! My sample pack included a variety of flavors of cheeses, so naturally, I had to try each one immediately.

My absolute favorites were the Rosemary (which won the 2013 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest) and the Hickory Smoked Shredded cheese (yes, that’s correct, FLAVORED shredded cheese!)

I will admit that I loved the Rosemary so much that I hid it in the back bottom of the fridge, just so I didn’t have to share!

I am in love with the idea of flavored shredded cheese (I mean, why hasn’t any one else come up with this brilliant idea?). This Hickory Smoked shredded cheese is delicious by itself (ask my daughter who kept sneaking handfuls of the shreds), but my mind was swimming with ideas on how to incorporate this into a recipe. So was born Smokey Shrimp Quesadillas.

There really isn’t a wrong way to make a quesadilla, you can put pretty much any type of meat, seasonings and veggies inside, but my quesadillas include shrimp, sauteed peppers and onions, taco sauce and Hickory Smoked shredded cheese.

They key to a delicious quesadilla is to spray your pan with non-stick spray. This will give you an extra-crispy crust (instead of a hard, dried out crust).  To make, simply spray pan (preheated over medium-high heat), lay a whole wheat tortilla in the pan, layer desired ingredients (don’t forget the cheese) and top with a second tortilla. Cook for 3-4 minutes (or until golden brown). Lift up quesadilla, re-spray pan, then flip tortilla to cook the other side.

Cook an additional 3-4 minutes until the second tortilla is crispy and the cheese inside is gooey.

Enjoy. I mean, REALLY enjoy!

Full Disclosure: I received a free sample of these cheeses, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.