Sometimes life gets hairy and you forget to do certain things that are important to sustain life. Like eat. Maybe you've probably been having hunger pains and grumbles for a while now, maybe they even started around 3:00 pm, but waves of anxiety or worry might have extinguished them.

All of a sudden you have to eat, and this time cheese and crackers just won’t cut it and even though you’d really love pizza, there is NO WAY you can wait that long. 

These quesadillas were born out of that exact scenario and were a total accident. An amazing accident that happened after only 30 minutes of effort!! They’re healthy, fresh, full of protein, fulfilling, and bursting with flavor. They will use up that pepper in your veggie drawer and the last few cherry tomatoes.

I am a big eater, but not in the sit down and eat a huge meal kind of way, I prefer to eat basically all day long but in smaller portions. I had two servings of these scrumptious little buggers! We ate them on the run, on the way to the vet to pick Lainee up once again.

My favorite approval rating comes after the first or second chews, when Chris says, ‘Oh my gah. Wow. These are amazing!’

Healthy Benefits of this Recipe:

• Garlic: Flu season just around the corner, and did you know that garlic has the ability to fight off the flu virus? The first step in this recipe is chopping or pressing the garlic cloves, and letting them sit for a while. Crushing the garlic releases ‘allicin’ which is an active compound found to have numerous antimicrobial properties due to a wide variety of inhibitory effects they have on bacteria and fungus (Ankri & Mirelman, 1999). Allicin has a different mode of action than most antibiotics, so some bacteria have shown an inability to develop resistance (Ankri & Mirelman, 1999) . Allicin is created when ‘alliin’ and ‘allinase’ come into contact with each other. Allinase is a heat sensitive enzyme and by letting the garlic sit for 10 minutes before subjecting it to heat, you are allowing time for as much Allicin to be produced as possible. 

You should make these tonight because its super fast, delicious, and healthy! Take a picture and share it with me on Instagram by using #itsallofit!

Veggie Black Bean Quesadillas 

Author: Corrie L. Anderson

Recipe Type: Entrée

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Serves: 2 – 4 

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large bell pepper (or 2 smaller peppers) - chopped
• 1 handful of cherry tomatoes – halved or quartered
• 1 lime – zest and juice
• 2 garlic cloves – finely chopped or pressed
• ½ red or white onion, chopped
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed
• 1 – 1 ½ cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
• 2 – 3 tablespoons enchilada spice mix
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 flour tortillas
• salt and pepper 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop garlic up very finely and let it sit while heating up your pan. 
2. Heat up 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat
3. Add onions to pan and sauté for 2 minutes, until almost translucent. Add in peppers, cherry tomatoes, and garlic and sauté for 5 – 7 minutes. Add 2-3 tablespoons of enchilada spice mix and stir.  Next add the zest and juice of one lime and season with salt and pepper.
4. Finally, add the black beans and quinoa and stir, turn the heat down a little bit and let it sit for a couple of minutes!
5. Once your Panini maker or pan is ready to go, take a tortilla and spoon the veggie-bean- quinoa mixture onto one side of the tortilla. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and fold over. Brush or spray, super lightly, with olive oil and start cooking. If you’re using a Panini maker, let it cook for about 3 minutes. Turn over if you think it is necessary, but it might not be! If you’re using a pan, cook until lightly browned.

Serving Size: 1   Calories:  325   Fat: 9 g  Saturated Fat: 2 g  Carbohydrates: 52 g  Sugar: 4 g  Sodium: 312 mg  Fiber: 7 g  Protein: 12 g

©Corrie L. Anderson  All rights reserved. All borrowed content must be approved before sharing and properly credited. Thank you.