Spiced Pork Quesadillas

1. Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Transfer them to a microwave safe plate and microwave them for 12-14 minutes, until completely tender and mashable. Take them out and cut them in half, then set them aside to let them cool enough to handle.
2. While the sweet potatoes cook and cool, get a large rondeau pan on the stove and heat the canola oil in it over medium high heat. Add the onion, jalapeno and mushrooms and let them get soft and fragrant for a couple of minutes. Then add the pork and brown it completely.
3. While the pork cooks, season and spice it with the salt, smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin and crushed red pepper. Once the pork has cooked stir in the tomato paste and let it cook for a minute, then pour in the beer. Turn the heat to medium and let the mixture gently bubble and cook for 6-8 minutes, until all of the liquid has evaporated.
4. The sweet potatoes should be cooked and cooled by this point. Scoop the flesh right out of the skins into the pan with the pork mixture and stir it in thoroughly. It will just melt right into the pork mixture. Take the pan off of the heat and set it aside.
5. Preheat an electric griddle to 350 F or use a griddle pan over medium high heat. Form the quesadillas by scooping about two big, heaping spoonfuls of the pork and sweet potato filling onto one half of a tortilla and smoothing it out evenly. Generously sprinkle lots of cheddar cheese on top of the filling, then fold the other half of the tortilla over. Gently press down to make the quesadilla adhere together. Finish assembling the rest.
6. Grease the griddle with a little butter. Cook each quesadilla on the griddle for about 2 minutes on each side, until the tortilla is golden and crispy and the cheese is gooey. While the quesadillas cook, stir together the ketchup, ranch, salt and chili powder in a bowl to make the easy dipping sauce.
7. Cut the cooked quesadillas into quarters and serve with the dipping sauce. These are so perfect for the big game or any time! The filling can easily be made the day before and refrigerated, then the quesadillas just have to be assembled and cooked the day of. This can feed a crowd, and leftovers are amazing!