on the lighter side...

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It was inevitable. The orgy of consumption that surrounded my birthday had to come to an end. And that end was yesterday, marked by a foray into bean quesadillas.

So really, I guess that makes it not so much an end....as a beginning (or renewal?) of healthy, tasty eating. And I think my system will be thankful. :)

Quesadillas are fast, easy and offer up a great weekday meal solution. I love them. I particularly love this one because it incorporates SO many tasty things - beans, coriander, garlic, tomatoes, corn and red pepper. It's a complete meal and is super tasty.

I enjoyed it with a little sour cream and hubs and I were ecstatic to enjoy it al fresco on our BRAND NEW PATIO. WOOT!!!!!!!! This is the first time we've eaten outside in the three years we've lived in our house (also shocking is that our house is 45 years old and no one ever bothered to put in a patio, deck or ANY sort of hardscaping. But oh well.

It was great outside. If I weren't trying to trim down, it would also be fab with margaritas. And lots of tequila.

I stole this from www.cookinglight.com and made a few modifications to spice 'er up.

Black Bean Quesadillas with Charred Corn Salsa

Quesadillas:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
2 cups chopped plum tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 t ancho chile powder (randomly found mine at the Butchery in Ottawa)
1/2 t cumin

4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
Cooking spray
3/4 cup (3 ounces)shredded cheese

Salsa:
1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 t sea salt

To prepare the quesadillas, preheat the broiler.
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, 1/2 cup cilantro, beans and spices; cook 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally.

Ancho chile powder is very tasty:


And all the steam made my pic here look a little funny:


2. Place tortillas on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Top each tortilla with 1/2 cup bean mixture and 3 tablespoons cheese; fold in half.



3. Lightly coat tops with cooking spray (my cooking spray is empty so I just brushed with a bit of olive oil).



4. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts and tortillas begin to brown. Let sit for a few minutes. Cut each tortilla into 3 wedges. The top gets all toasty and is SO yummy. If you're a little less freaked about calories, flip the tortilla over, brush the opposite side and re-broil. :)

To prepare salsa:
1. Pre-heat a medium skillet (dry) and toast corn until lightly blackened.



2. Add remaining ingredients Bring to a boil over high heat, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve with quesadillas.



Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 quesadilla wedges and about 1/3 cup salsa)

CALORIES 420 (31% from fat); FAT 14.4g (sat 5.5g,mono 6.4g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 17.8g; CHOLESTEROL 19mg; CALCIUM 272mg; SODIUM 590mg; FIBER 10.3g; IRON 4.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 60g