Spicy Zucchini Quesadillas

My internet is working currently (which means it will probably stop in the next couple minutes), so I just had to really quick post the recipe I made last night because they were AWESOME!!! So awesome in fact that I didn't even take a picture because I was too busy diving into it. The recipe comes from a cookbook put together by members of a parenting message board I belong to and has all sorts of yummy recipes. I was looking through it recently for some new vegetarian meal ideas and saw this. Since I occasionally get zucchini in my produce co-op basket I made a mental note of the recipe. Of course when I got said zucchini this past weekend, I had already packed that cookbook for our big upcoming move. Oops. But, thankfully, one of the other women on the board posted the recipe so I didn't have to open all my cookbook boxes (yes, I have multiple already and still haven't finished packing them all) and find this one.

Spicy Zucchini Quesadillas

1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup sweet red pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon butter, softened
2 cups zucchini, shredded
2 TBSP taco seasoning
2 Tbsp butter, softened
8 flour tortillas
8 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded

In a skillet, saute onion and red pepper in 1 tsp. butter for 3 mins. Stir in zucchini and taco seasoning; saute 3 to 4 mins longer or until veggies are tender. Remove from heat. Spread remaining butter onver one side of tortillas. Place tortillas butter side down on a griddle. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup cheese and 1/4 cup zucchini mixture over half of each tortilla; fold over. Cook over low heat for 1-2 mins on each side, or until cheese is melted. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and jalapenos.

*****

The only thing I changed was using Monterey Jack cheese instead of pepper jack because I didn't think the boy would eat it that way. And instead of sauteeing the onion and red pepper in butter, I just sprayed the pan with non-stick spray to save some calories. I wasn't entirely sure if the recipe was supposed to make eight quesadillas (each tortilla fold over in half) or four (tortilla spread out and topped with a second), so I went with making four.

These were FANTASTIC!!! We all really liked them. The boy and baby originally split one, but the baby ended up having part of mine because he wanted more! The husband and I both thought a whole one was very filling, which was good because I was concerned it wouldn't be enough food and we'd end up hungry still after we ate. This is definitely getting added in to my vegetarian meal rotation--especially with the summer approaching and the abundance of zucchini it can bring!

I'll make them again soon so I can post a picture!

Santa Fe Burgers

I just want you to know that I stayed up late last night cleaning my house so that I could update my blog today during naptime without feeling guilty about the state of my house. It was bad. So after the kiddos and husband were in bed I cleaned. Now I can get all caught up here. I think I have four posts to do, and I think I have pictures for most of them, or at least some!

For most of my meal planning last week I used a Cooking Light cookbook I forget to use. It's Cooking Light Superfast Suppers. It has some really good stuff in it, and all the recipes are quick to put together. Since I wanted to have mostly new stuff on the menu AND be healthy, I figured it was a great place to start.

I always have Boca Burgers on hand because the husband takes them for lunch a lot, so when I saw this I figured it would be a great dinner since we already had the protien piece, we had hamburger buns, salsa, and I had gotten several avocados from my produce co-op last weekend. All I needed was the cheese!

Santa Fe Burgers

4 (2.8-ounce) frozen meatless soy protein burgers
4 (2.8-ounce) whole grain hamburger buns
4 (3/4-ounce) slices 2% Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
8 thin slices avocado
1/2 cup chunky salsa

Cook burgers in a nonstick skillet according to package directions. Place 1 burger on bottom half of each bun; top with 1 cheese slice, 2 avocado slices, and 2 tablespoons salsa. Cover with top half of bun. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information
Calories:367 (23% from fat)
Fat:9.4g (sat 2.8g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.5g)
Protein:24.2g
Carbohydrate:52.5g
Fiber:9.6g
Cholesterol:11mg
Iron:4.4mg
Sodium:872mg
Calcium:314mg

*****

I happened to take dinner to my friend Jen on Monday night, and I took them Mexican Chicken Casserole. The husband was VERY disappointed that they got that while we were having Boca burgers. He didn't realize they were "fancy" Bocas, so I think he felt a little better once I told him that, but he was still jealous of their dinner.

These were really good burgers. I ended up mixing the salsa with a little mayonnaise for a creamier sauce. The combination of that with the pepper jack cheese was realy good, with the creamy mellowness of the avocado to balance it out. Yum!! I had planned on doing some kind of potatoes with these, but Jen's dinner ended up taking me longer to put together than I anticipated, so instead I made up some guacamole and we just had tortilla chips and guac on the side.

I'd probably make these again, especially since most of the ingredients are things I had on hand. It was a really good, really fast vegetarian dinner to add to my arsenal. The cookbook actually has a whole section on doctored up Boca burgers, so I may try out more of them. Surprisingly both my kids ate the Bocas as well. I wasn't sure what they'd think, but both kids ate their burgers just fine, although they just had regular ol' American slices on theirs.