Tuesday Recipe: Roasted Red Pepper Quesadillas

Some days you just gotta have some cheesy, spicy (or not) Texican-Mexican flavor! Here's a super fast resolve to settle your inner longing for the Southwest when you are far, far away and "#7 Speedy Gonzalez" menu item will never suffice.

Roasted Red Pepper Quesadillas

1/2 to 1 cup  bottled Roasted Red Bell Peppers, drained & sliced
1 tablespoon Mayonnaise (or Vegannaise)
1 cup + Colby Jack/Fiesta Blend or Sharp Cheddar, shredded
Cilantro, chopped
For heat: 1 Jalapeño Pepper, seeds & membrane removed, chopped OR
For heat: splashes of Sriracha, to taste
(optional: 1-2 splashes of Mesquite Liquid Smoke)
(optional: sauté one small onion, diced)
Flour Tortillas, size and flavor depends on you
Olive Oil or spray oil

• Drain Roasted Red Bell Peppers and slice into strips.
• In medium bowl, combine mayo, cheese, cilantro and chopped jalapeño. Stir in strips of sliced Roasted Red Bell Peppers.
• Heat skillet to medium to medium-high and lightly coat with oil.
• Spoon some of the cheese mixture onto one side of each tortilla. Then, fold tortillas in half.
• Slide the stuffed & folded tortilla onto the heated and prepared skillet for 3-4 minutes each side OR until cheese is melted and tortilla is toasted.
• Remove from skillet. Cut each tortilla in half or thirds to serve!

The breakfast twist on this recipe is to scramble one egg per tortilla. Spoon the cheese mixture and the scrambled egg onto one side of each tortilla and proceed with heating. Serve with salsa and additional cilantro! :)

Go play with your food!

2-on-Tuesday: Chickpea Salad with "Vegannaise"

Don't let the title weird you out! If you like potato salad, you'll probably like this protein-packed, low-fat version using chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzos). 

After tasting a very similar side dish at my fave vegetarian restaurant, The Wild Cow, in Eastland of Nashville, I thought, "I can make this!" And, was the first recipe since starting my journey in mostly plant-based nutrition in which I felt comfortable replicating simply from tasting it. Ask me to do that with fat-foods and I have nooo problem whipping up fatty sauces from memory. But, feeling comfortable creating plant-based alternative dishes comparable to my old recipes is like learning a new language for me.

The "vegannaise" is really a plant-based mayonnaise recipe from Forks Over Knives.

Chickpea Salad

1 can Chickpeas, rinsed & drained
Celery, finely chopped (amount is to YOUR taste)
Red Onion, finely chopped (again, amount added is to YOUR taste)
Dill Weed, fresh (a little goes a long way)
Vegannaise
opt: carrot, finely chopped or shaved
opt: Siracha or red pepper flakes

• Combine chickpeas and veggies in a bowl.
• Stir-in a large spoonful of vegannaise. The amount YOU add is your preference. 
• Add slightly chopped fresh dill weed. Start with a little and adding more to your liking.

Vegannaise 
(pg 28 of Forks Over Knives cookbook)

One 12-ounce package extra-firm silken Tofu, drained
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard (NOT sandwich mustard. Find on the spice aisle.)
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt, or to taste
2-3 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

• Combine all ingredients in food processor.
• Puree until smooth and creamy.

Hope you enjoy! How would YOU change it up?

~"Sam"