Dinner in a Pinch

I just have to pass on a shout-out to The Sugared Whisk blog for a recipe I found there. Since school is going to be starting soon where I live -- August 22, in fact....AAGH -- it's time to find some new recipes that will hopefully become stand-by's on those nights when I am really pressed for time. It's pretty straight forward and I am going to teach my ten-year-old to make it. That way SHE can make dinner while I'm finishing up teaching piano lessons.

We have always liked quesadillas at our house, but I usually only make them with cheese inside. Once or twice I have had left-over ground beef that I season up with some cumin and chili powder, but this recipe uses chicken. I also discovered that this recipe would be a great food-storage recipe because everything but the cream cheese can come from what you have on hand. Of course, grilled fresh sweet corn and grilled chicken would be tastier, but sometimes you gotta use what you have on hand! Even my child who doesn't like beans liked this recipe.

Chicken, Corn, and Black Bean Quesadillas

"Ingredients
2 tablespoon canola oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups corn kernels -- I used one 15.5 oz. can of corn; you could use frozen too
1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded or cubed* -- or one 14.4 oz can of chicken, from which you can also use the broth for the next ingredient
1/3 cup water or broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 ounces cream cheese
2 cups Mexican blend cheese (PepperJack would be great too)
4 large (burrito sized) flour tortillas

* she seasoned her chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and chili powder and grilled it over an open flame to bring more flavor to the dish.

Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil in a large skillet, stir in the garlic and corn and cook until the garlic is fragrant. Add the chicken, water (or broth), cumin, chili powder, oregano, and black beans and bring to a light boil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to let the flavors meld. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the cream cheese.

Heat another large pan (grill pan, or cast iron skillet) over medium-high heat, brush pan surface with canola oil. Place a flour tortilla onto the hot pan. Build a quesadilla by layering a handful of cheese, 1/4 of the chicken mixture and another handful of cheese on one half of the tortilla. Fold tortilla in half and apply pressure to top to create a sear on the bottom of the tortilla and to make everything stick together. Once the bottom of the tortilla is browned flip over and brown the other side, once again applying pressure to the top to help the browning process. When both sides are browned remove quesadilla from pan and cut into 4 even triangles with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Repeat process with remaining tortillas, brushing pan with canola oil before each quesadilla.

-makes 4 hefty sized quesadillas-

And if you like food websites to browse I got the link to the Sugared Whisk from another one with loads of different food photos and recipes: www.foodgawker.com. It will have you drooling in no time!!