Vegetarian Bean Quesadilla

My daughter is that stage of growing where she wants to try different kinds of cuisine and food. She also tells me that she does not want to eat baby food anymore. She wants to eat "grown up" food. So for dinner the other day I decided to make some thing that she could eat. She prefers vegetarian fare. I know she likes rotis/ chapatis which are basically Indian flat bread that is like a whole wheat tortilla. She also likes cheese and sour cream. I decided to make a bean quesadilla using most of the ingredients that she likes or will eat. I swapped the sour cream with Greek yogurt. The beans stuffing was easy to make and she liked it.

I added some picked jalapeños to half it for my husband and I to spice it up a bit. I served it with fresh salsa with avocado and Greek yogurt. The end result was so good that my husband asked me where I had gotten the quesadilla from!! 

Do try it. It is great because you don't have to slave in front of the stove in this warm weather.The recipe is also in time for Cinco de mayo and Mother's Day which is around the corner! Serve the quesadilla with guacamole , any kind of salsa,  pico de gallo or salsa verde, or all of them if you wish!

Servings: 3-4

Prep time: 10 minsCook time: 15 minsTotal time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Whole wheat tortillas/ roti/ Chapati: 2, large.
Mexican shredded cheese mix: 1 cup
Greek yogurt: 1/2 cup

For the bean stuffing:
Cooked & drained red kidney beans : 2 cups ( or 1 can (8oz).
Cooking oil: 1 tsp ( I used coconut oil)
Onion: 1 small, diced fine
Cumin powder: 1/4 tsp
Bell pepper/ capsicum, diced fine: 1/4 cup
Black pepper, freshly ground: 1/2 tsp
Salt: to taste
Cilantro, chopped fine: 1 tbsp ( optional)
Pickled jalapeños, chopped: 1 tsp ( optional)

Method:

Heat the oil in a sauce pan or sauté pan on medium heat.

Add the dice onion. Sauté until the onion begins to sweat.

Add the diced bell peppers. Sauté for a minute.

Add the cumin powder. Sauté for 10-20 seconds.

Add the cooked and drained red kidney beans, salt, black pepper and mix well until it all comes together.

Using a potato masher, lightly mash this mixture.

Add finely chopped cilantro. Mix.

Turn off the flame and keep aside.

Heat a griddle/ tawa on medium flame. Place one roti/ chapati/tortilla on it. Reduce the flame to low.

Spread the bean mixture on top of the tortilla evenly.

Sprinkle the pickled jalapeño pieces if you want it spicy.

Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top. 

Place the second roti/chapati/ tortilla on top. Let it cook for a minute or two.

If possible, flip the quesadilla and cook for a minute on the other side. If you cannot flip, it is ok. Just continue cooking for couple more minutes until the cheese melts.

Turn off the flame. Using a pizza cutter or serrated knife , cut it into six pieces/ wedges.

Top it with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Serve it with guacamole , any kind of salsa,  pico de gallo or salsa verde if you wish.!

Enjoy!

I am bringing this to all my friends at Angie's Fiesta Friday for the Cinco de Mayo celebrations!!   Monika @ Everyday Healthy Recipes and Sue @ Birgerbird are the co-hosts this weekend!

Cooking made easy:

If you are gluten free, you can use corn tortillas. If the tortilla is really small, just cut it into 2 or 4 pieces.

Alternatively, you can use just one tortilla, put the filling on one half of the tortilla, top it with cheese and fold the other half of the tortilla on top. You can then choose to cut it into 3 pieces/wedges or just 2 halves.

Tip for healthy living:

You can enjoy any of your regular food by switching high calorie, high fat ingredients with low calorie, low-fat, healthy ingredients. For eg, in the above recipe, I have switched the sour cream with healthier Greek yogurt.

Food for Thought:

The secret of our success is determined by our daily agenda. John Maxwell.

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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Quesadilla

I love Mexican food. It is pretty nutritious and balanced.I often try to make some of them at home. A healthier version of course! I do not care for the sour cream and use very little cheese. Today I made quesadilla for dinner. "Queso" means cheese in Spanish. It is basically tortillas filled with melted cheese. Traditionally flour tortillas are used but I use corn tortillas as I avoid flour. Apart from cheese the tortillas can be stuffed with anything you please.. Different veggies like onions, tomatoes, peppers, & avocado can be used or if you wish you can stuff it with chicken and make chicken quesadilla. I made the vegetarian one with different peppers, cabbage, onion and avocado. Again raw veggies can be used or you could lightly cook them. I have stir-fried my veggies in a little bit of olive oil. The tortillas after being stuffed are generally folded into half and then cut into wedges. Since I use corn tortillas which are much smaller than the flour tortillas, I could not possibly fold them. Hence I have used two tortillas for each quesadilla and then cut them into wedges. Being a avocado aficionado, I have used chopped avocados in my stuffing and served the quesadilla with guacamole.

Here is the recipe for my quesadilla.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Corn Tortillas: 8  ( 2 for each quesadilla )
Onion: 1 small, chopped
Red bell pepper: 1/2,diced small
Orange bell pepper: 1/2, diced small
Yellow bell pepper: 1/2 , diced small
Carrot : 1 small, cut julienne
Cabbage: 1/2 cup shredded
Avocado: 1/2, diced
Spring onion: 2, chopped
Sharp cheddar cheese :2 oz, cut into thin slices
Salt: 1/8 tsp
Pepper: 1/4 tsp
Adobo seasoning: 1 tsp
Olive oil: 1/2 tbsp+ 1 tbsp

Method:

In a frying pan, heat 1/2 tbsp oil, sauté onions for a minute on medium heat.

Now add carrots, cabbage, chopped peppers, scallions and sauté for a minute or two.

The vegetables should be crisp and not soggy. Add the adobo seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix well and keep aside.

Heat a skillet/ griddle on medium heat. Smear a little oil/ butter and warm the tortilla on it for 30 seconds on both sides on low flame. The purpose of applying oil/ butter is so that the tortilla does not become crispy. You want the tortilla to be soft and pliable.

Now spread a layer of shredded/ sliced cheese .

Spoon 2 tbsp of the vegetable mixture. 

Top it with 1 tsp of chopped avocados. Top it with another layer of shredded/ sliced cheese.

Place the second tortilla on top of this and with the spatula press lightly. Now gently flip the quesadilla so that the top tortilla is now laying on the skillet. Warm it until the cheese slightly melts .

Now you can cut the quesadilla into wedges on the skillet itself. Transfer to a plate.

Serve hot with guacamole , sour cream , salsa or little bit of all of them.

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

Make a little extra of the stir-fried veggies and store in the fridge for yummy tacos or noodles for dinner the next day! You could also store just the chopped veggies and make the stir-fry fresh the next evening.

Tip for healthy living:

Drinking a glass of warm water with 1/2 lemon in it first thing in the morning helps detoxify the body . It also helps rejuvenate the liver. 

Food for thought:

Talk less work more. ( Unknown)