Homemade Quesadillas

Last week in the NY Times Recipes for Health column Martha Rose Shulman shared recipes for quesadillas, which she also referred to as “healthy fast food.” It happened that I was in the midst of coming up with my shopping list for my weekly dinner groceries when I read the article and saw all the quesadilla recipes. It was the perfect solution to vary my go-to quick and healthy mid-week dinners like tofu stir fry and pasta with beans and cheese.

I made my quesadillas using corn tortillas, roasted red peppers (from a jar), sauteed onions, black beans, and reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese. To start, I sauteed the onions and then added the roasted red peppers for a few minutes. Next, I removed the vegetables from the pan and heated one corn tortilla and topped it with some of the vegetables, black beans, and cheese.

I then added a second tortilla on top, pressing down with a spatula for a few minutes until the cheese started to melt.  Then came the tricky part – flipping the quesadilla without everything on the inside falling out! (The key is don’t overfill the quesadilla and use your second hand to help keep it together.) I cooked it a little longer before removing it from the pan to a plate. I served the quesadillas with salsa and nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

This quick, easy, and healthy meal was so delicious I am sure it will become a staple mid-week dinner to add to my list.

And in case you’re wondering, corn tortillas are the healthier variety – they have half the fat and calories and one-fourth the sodium of a similar-sized flour tortilla. So unless you really dislike the taste of corn tortillas, stick with them to keep the meal lightened up.

What’s your favorite quesadilla filling?