Veggie, Me!

Ok so for the past two months I haven't eaten meat but about two times. Thinking back now, I forgot about reading Skinny Bitch as that is the reason that I started to not eat meat to begin with. And then when you are trying to lose weight, it's best to not eat a lot of meat and carbs because your body finds it easier to digest foods like fruits and vegetables. So that's what I've been trying to do these days!

Dave LOVED this recipe I made the other night. I agree, it was delish. It was also from my new FAV magazine (Beth knows this!), Fine Cooking. They have all kinds of recipes and really appetizing vegetarian ones! For the recipe, I thought I had goat cheese but turns out I didn't so I used a pepper jack, still tasted great! I'm sure the goat cheese would give it more of a tangy taste.

Black Bean & Goat Cheese Quesadillas with Guacamole

3 Tbs. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
15-1/2-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 large or 2 small ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
2 tsp. fresh lime juice; more to taste
3 to 4 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled
6 flour tortillas, 8 inches across

In a medium skillet, heat 2 Tbs. of the oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and sauté, stirring, until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add the beans, cumin, chili powder, and 1/2 cup water and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost all the water has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Take the pan off the heat. With the back of a fork, break up the beans to make a chunky mash. Stir in half of the cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine the avocado, lime juice, and remaining cilantro and use a potato masher or the back of a fork to mash into a chunky paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper; add more lime juice if you like.

Spread the black bean mixture evenly over three of the tortillas. Scatter the goat cheese over the beans and cover with the remaining tortillas. Lightly coat a large heavy skillet or griddle with oil (about 1 tsp.) and heat over medium heat. Set one of the quesadillas in the skillet and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Flip the quesadilla over and brown on the other side for another 1-1/2 minutes. Remove from the pan, cook the remaining quesadillas (add more oil to the pan each time) and cut each into eight wedges. Serve each wedge with a dollop of the guacamole.