The Best Veggie Quesadillas

There’s no wrong way to make a quesadilla.  It’s one of those foods that can be served as a quick weeknight meal, an after school snack, bite sized as a party app; filled with just cheese, grilled veggies, or shredded meat! The possibilities are endless.
For this recipe, I decided to use the leftover veggies from my Grilled Veggie and Couscous Salad.  The girls were not too happy about eating eggplant or seeing the char marks on their veggies when we were BBQ’ing.  Repurposing leftovers is a great way to get rid of them without wasting food.  Bonus, if the kids don’t like how I make food one way, I simply keep trying until they eat the food in a different form.  Eventually, I win.


I also added some black beans to this to boost the protein content for the girls.  As you can tell, the girls were with me in the kitchen this particular time (and insisted I use their plates for my photos).

Not only is this kid friendly to eat, but this is a great dish for your kids to learn to cook.  There’s very little chopping involved and a parent can supervise for the stove top part.

Yum
Notes:
Heat up the veggies in a pan with an extra sprinkling of salt and pepper to freshen up the vegetables and liven the seasoning a bit.

Instead of oil or butter, I spray my skillet with cooking spray so I still get the golden crust on the tortilla without adding too much fat.

Sprinkle cheese over the whole tortilla with the filling on only half of it.  This will melt the cheese to help it bind the two edges together and ensure none of the filling comes out.

Cook the quesadilla on low flame covered with a pot lid.  The filling and cheese will melt together perfectly without burning your quesadilla.

The girls were so excited to make this with me, they insisted I use their plates for my photos!

Ingredients:
4 large flour tortillas (9in)
2 c leftover grilled veggies
2 c shredded cheese blend
1 c canned black beans, drained, rinsed
1 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste
pepper to taste
cooking spray

Directions:
For the filling:
1. Heat a small pan on med flame and add leftover veggies and black beans.  Season with cumin, salt and pepper and stir well until just warmed up.
2. Turn off flame and set aside to use for quesadilla.

For Quesadilla:
1. Heat a large skillet on high flame, then reduce to med-low flame.
2. Spray a little cooking spray.  Add the tortilla and sprinkle about ¼c cheese all over.
3. Sprinkle about ½c of veggie mix on only half of the quesadilla.
4. Cover with a dome or pot lid and let it cook/melt for 1 minute.
5.  Uncover, fold quesadilla in half and remove to a chopping board.
6. Let it cool then cut into wedges.

Serve hot and enjoy!

What fillings do you love in your quesadilla?  Send in pics of your favorite quesadilla!