Black Bean, Mushroom, and Spinach Quesadilla

Recipe from Calories In, Calories Out Cookbook via myfitnesspal.com

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Make this when you’re on a budget and in a hurry instead of heading to a fast food joint.  

½ Tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced

¼ teaspoon chili powder or to taste

4 cups loosely packed baby spinach

1 cup cooked black beans or canned, rinsed and drained (I used beans I had made in the slow cooker, froze and then thawed.)

1 cup frozen corn, thawed (This was not in the original recipe, but I had some in the freezer and thought it would be a nice addition, which it was.)

2 Tablespoons minced jalapeno chilies

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

4 whole-wheat tortillas

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

In a large non-stick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and cook for 20 seconds, then add the mushrooms, chili powder and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are light golden and most of the juices have evaporated.  Add the spinach and stir until wilted, and then add the black beans, corn, if using, and jalapenos.  Stir until well combined.  Season the mushroom mixture with salt and pepper.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside.  Wipe skillet with a paper towel and set aside. 

Lay the tortillas on a flat surface.  Sprinkle one half of each round with an equal amount of cheese, then divide the mushroom filling squally over the cheese.  Fold each tortilla in half.

Reheat the skillet over medium heat.  Place one of the quesadillas in the skillet (add a second one if it fits) and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until the cheese melts and the inside is warm.  Continue to cook the remaining quesadillas.  Serve promptly.  (It tastes especially nice with a bit of fresh salsa on the side.)

Nutritional Information: (Serving size: 1 quesadilla)

370 calories; total fat 12 g; saturated fat 5 g; cholesterol 20 mg; sodium 846 mg; carbohydrate 44 g; fiber 8 g; sugar 1 g; protein 20 g

Chutney Cheese Ball (or Log)

Recipe from Rick Brown, The Broadmoor 

Husband-Tested in Alice's Kitchen

Your guests will ask you for the recipe when you serve this delicious appetizer at your next party. This can be made a day or two in advance, so it's great to make when you have lots to do on the day of your party. This cheese ball tastes especially good when you serve it with sliced apples. Lost River Market & Deli has not only a great selection of apples, but also has many choices of crackers. When you have finished making your cheese ball, use the remaining chutney in the jar for Chutney Chicken Salad or Curried Rice Salad.  There's information about chutney at the end of this recipe. (Once you've opened the jar of chutney, keep it in the frigde. It keeps a long time.)

Ingredients

2  (8 oz.) packages cream cheese (I've also made this with just one package of cream cheese and it turned out great.)

½ cup Stonewall Kitchen Old Farmhouse Chutney or Major Grey's Chutney

¼ cup green onion - diced

1 clove garlic - crushed

dash of salt

dash of pepper

½ cup Colby cheese, shredded

½ cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Directions

Mix together the cream cheese, Old Farmhouse Chutney, scallion, garlic, salt and pepper.

Fold in the Colby and Monterey jack cheeses.

Form the mixture into a ball and roll it into the chopped pecans.

Chutney: From the East Indian word chatni , this spicy condiment contains fruit, vinegar, sugar and spices. It can range in texture from chunky to smooth and in degrees of spiciness from mild to hot. Chutney is a delicious accompaniment to curried dishes. The sweeter chutneys also make interesting bread spreads and are delicious served with cheese.

Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese

Serves 8

Recipe by Jill Melton from Relish Magazine

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

By adding pumpkin to this all-time favorite dish, you’ll not only be adding a very subtle pumpkin flavor, but also fabulous color to your meal, fiber, lots of vitamin A, calcium, iron and vitamin C.  Toast some pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet until they begin to pop and turn brown and then top the dish off with those instead of using breadcrumbs. Eat this right off the stove or bake it in the oven.  ***Note:  This tastes great and especially creamy right from the stove, so if you could definitely skip baking this dish in the oven.

3 cups uncooked penne pasta or fusilli pasta (I used whole-wheat fusilli pasta.)

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons flour

2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk (I used skim milk.)

3/4 cup canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ teaspoon Kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted (Optional)

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.*** (I used cooking spray.) Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Drain.  Place into a large bowl. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until foamy. Whisk in flour and cook 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk, making sure there are no lumps. Cook until thickened.  Add pumpkin puree and mix well. Remove from heat. Add cheeses, salt, nutmeg and black pepper. When cheese is melted combine with drained noodles. Pour into baking pan.  (You can make the dish to this point and then chill up to a day.)  Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.  Top with toasted pumpkin seeds, if using.

Nutritional information per serving:

(There will be more fiber and less fat in each serving if you use whole wheat pasta and skim milk.) Calories 411; Fat 19g; Saturated Fat 11g; Cholesterol 59mg; Sodium 302mg; Carbohydrate 38g; Fiber 2g; Sugars 5g; Protein 21g