Review: Cheddar-Jalepeno Quesadilla Salad with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette, June "01

[JillC]

Phew! I think it took me longer to type in the name of the recipe than it did to make it!
We made this for supper tonight. I'd definitely recommend it. It was quick, easy and tasty. I cooked the black beans in a pressure cooker instead of using canned and I think we still put this together in under 20 minutes (there were two of us doing the prep, so that probably helped). The vinaigrette is so flavorful that I think you could even skip adding the salsa and sour cream if you're so inclined.
Oh, and we didn't have onions or lime juice. So it may be even tastier if you don't forget items on your grocery list as I did. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif
Jill
Also--the vinaigrette recipe calls for 2 tsp minced garlic. I love garlic, but I think this was too much. Unless you have very mild garlic, you may want to use just one small clove to begin with.

[This message has been edited by JillC (edited 05-31-2001).]

[chefbec]

Thanks for the review. This sounds really good.

[Angela]

I'm anxious to try this recipe, so I'm glad you gave it a good review, Jill.

Believe me, you are not the only one who forgets to put things on the grocery list. Even worse is when it's on the list and I still forget! Ugh, nothing upsets me more.

[KimK]

Can anyone easily post this recipe? I'm still waiting for my June issue! I'd love to make these this weekend. Thanks a bunch!

[Terrytx]

We had this for dinner last night also. Very easy and delicious!

* Exported from MasterCook *

Cheddar-Jalapeno Quesadilla Salad with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Salad Tex-Mex
Vegetarian

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup Dijon-Lemon Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
Quesadilla:
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
8 (6 inch) corn tortillas
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp
cheddar cheese
3 to 4 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
cooking spray
Remaining Ingredients:
6 cups chopped iceburg lettuce
2 cups chopped tomato
1 cup bottled salsa
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream

To prepare vinaigrette, combine first 3 ingredients; stir with a whisk. Set aside.

To prepare the quesadillas, drain beans through a sieve over a bowl, reserving 1 tablespoon bean liquid; discard remaining liquid. Combine 1/2 cup beans and 1 tablespoon reserved bean liquid in a small bowl; mash with a fork. Reserve remaining beans. Spread bean mixture evenly over 4 tortillas. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup cheese and about 1 tablespoon jalapeno; top with remaining tortillas.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Cook quesadillas for 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove the quesadillas from the pan, and cut each nto 4 wedges. Combine vinaigrette with lettuce, and toss well. Arrange 1 1/2 cup lettuce mixture on each of 4 plates. For each serving, spoon 3 tablespoons reserved beans over lettuce mixture, and place 1/2 cup tomato over the beans. Top each serving with 1/4 cup salsa, 2 tablespoons chopped onion, and 1 tablespoon sour cream. Serve each with 4 quesadilla wedges.

Yield 4 servings. 389 cal, 12.4 g fat, 20.2g pro, 53.9g carb, 25mg chol, 985mg sod.

Source:
"Cooking Light-6/01"




* Exported from MasterCook *

Dijon-Lemon Vinaigrette

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Salad Dressing

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 tablespoons vegetable broth or water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a jar; cover tightly, and shake vigorously. Store in refrigerator.

Yield: 2/3 cup (serving size: 1 tablespoon). 25 cal, 2.4g fat, 1 g carb, 0mg chol, 93mg sod.

Source:
"Cooking Light-6/01"


NOTES : Refrigerated, the vinaigrette keeps for about a week.

[Wendy w]

Thanks for the review Jill and thanks Terrytx for posting! This looks great and I'm still waiting for my June issue http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif.

[rockydog]

It's yummy.

[CHRIST1NE]

We had these last weekend and thought they were excellent. It kind of reminds me of the famous Black Bean Taco Salad w/Lime Vinaigrette.

Thought I would add this note though, I found that cooking the quesadilla for 4 minutes on each side was way too much .. 1 1/2 - 2 minutes on each side was just about right. It also helps to let it cool for a minute or so before attempting to cut it - that way all the stuff doesn't ooze out. I also used a little more black bean filling than what was called for.

[This message has been edited by CHRIST1NE (edited 06-02-2001).]

[CAROL ANN]

I made this tonight. It is very good. I will be making this again. The only thing I changed was the tortillas. I used flour instead of corn. We don't care for the corn tortillas.

[JillC]

I also ended up using most of the beans for the quesadilla filling. The 1/2 cup they called for was about enough for 1 1/2 quesadillas (instead of 4), in my opinion.
Jill

[CHRIST1NE]

I actually got 2 quesadilla out of the 1/2 cup mixture, but it was a heaping 1/2 cup http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Next time, I may try heating the tortilla first in the microwave (to soften it) then folding it in half and putting the filling in the middle. Maybe that would help the filling from oozing out so much.

[Peggy]

I made this tonight and thought it was very good. However, "quick" would not be a word I would use to describe the preparation time. It seemed like it took me forever to get it all organized! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif Maybe it was just my state of mind tonight... I was able to get three quesadillas out of the 1/2 cup black bean mixture. Someone said that it reminded them of the Black Bean Taco Salad with Lime Vinagrette. I totally agree with that description. It seemed like the same recipe with the addition of the quesadillas.

Peggy

[valchemist]

This was a great summer supper. Very tasty and fresh. I made quite a few modifications to the recipe (but don't we all). As a result of the modifications (and as a result of my slowness in the kitchen) this wasn't a "quick" recipe to make. Here are the changes and a few comments...

For the vinaigrette: I took someone's advice and only used one small glove of garlic rather than 2 teaspoons. I tasted the dressing and thought it was a bit too lemon-y, so I added a little more mustard. When it came time to make the cilantro-lime variation, I used less than 1tbsp cilantro instead of 2, and that was plenty.
For the salad: I added one chopped bell pepper and omitted the raw onion. can't stand raw onions. I mixed the lettuce and dressing first and then I added all of the other salad ingredients and mixed them all together (instead of making layers like the recipe suggested). Better this way because everything gets coated with the dressing. I served the sour cream and salsa in condiment bowls on the side.
For the quesadillas: Here is where I really departed from the recipe. I used two 15-ounce cans of black beans. I used one full can and a little from the other can to make the bean filling from the black bean goeat cheese quesadillas on page 158 (I left out the cilantro and goat cheese). I topped the filling with the cheddar and jalapenos. This worked out perfectly. There was plenty of filling and the filling didn't leak out because I made sure to cook the mixture until it was really thick. the bean filling from this quesadilla recipe was very tasty.

I like the quesadilla salad idea. The fresh crisp salad contrasts well with the warm chewy quesadillas. Very satisfying. All the flavors came together well in this particular salad. I can't wait to try some of the others.


[This message has been edited by valchemist (edited 06-07-2001).]

[gertdog]

Just wanted to add my .02...

We had this over the weekend and really liked it. My fiance especially liked the dressing.

My changes... used green leaf lettuce instead of iceberg just because that's what I had on hand. And I was too lazy to get out a bowl and mash beans, so I did the quesadillas with just cheese and jalapenos, and put all of the beans into the salad.

Definitely a keeper recipe... my fiance asked me to put it on the menu again next week!