Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Recipe of the Week -- Bacon, Jalapeño and Jack Quesadillas (healthy version)

So, I LOVE this recipe, particularly because it includes homemade guacamole as a starter!
I changed just a bit of the recipe from the original, but it's pretty close to the Food Network version.

Bacon, Jalapeño and Jack Quesadillas

Guacamole

1 ripe avacado, halved, peeled and seeded
1 small tomato, diced
2 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (I used half the lime and squeezed it in. Close enough)
1 - 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced

Quesadillas

4 strips turkey bacon
6 scallions (white and green) thinly sliced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
3 (8-inch) multi-grain tortillas (I used Trader Joe's habanero lime wraps for mine, A chose to have one of those and one whole-wheat)
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey jack (I used pepperjack since that's what I had on hand)
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream, optional (I chose a big NO to this particular option)
Cilantro, for garnish

Guacamole: Coarsely mash the avocado in a large bowl. Add the tomato, scallions, lime juice, cilantro, jalapeno, and garlic until blended. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

(and chill for real. if you don't your guac will turn...brownish)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Unless you don't see this step. Which actually seemed to work out just fine in my case.

Lightly spray a medium nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Crumble and set aside. (this is easier said than done. You must also dodge the popping of the bacon grease which isn't all that much better with turkey bacon as it is with regular bacon. I hate, hate, hate real bacon, and I only marginally like turkey bacon, so the fact that I'm even posting this recipe should speak to you at how good it actually is)

To the same skillet, add the scallions, jalapeno, garlic, cumin, and coriander. Cook, stirring often, over medium heat, until the scallions are soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Place the tortillas on the baking sheet; sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese, 1/3 of the scallion mixture, and 1/3 of the bacon over half of each tortilla. Fold the unfilled half of each tortilla over the filling. Lightly spray the quesadillas with cooking spray. Bake until lightly browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.

Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges and serve with the guacamole and sour cream, if using. Garnish with cilantro.




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8 comments:

Julia said...

Wow I cant believe how healthy this actually is! It looks so fatning. Great recipe!

austin-sara.blogspot.com said...

that looks so so tasty....my mouth is watering!

Karls said...

Hey! Thanks for your comment... glad you got a laugh!

Had Mexican last night, the Paella tonight... thinking maybe this tomorrow might be a little overkill. But it looks so friggin awesome I might just have to do it!

Magda said...

YUM!!!!!!

Debbie said...

Yum! I am starving now. Sadly, nothing I have for lunch looks as good as that:)

Jill said...

Putting this on my list to try!!! Looks yummy!!!

Farmgirl Paints said...

You are making me soooo hungry. I guess I need to get out of this chair and go cook dinner:)

*Katy* said...

OMG, those look delicious! Thanks so much for sharing :)