Black Bean and Lime Quesadillas

Clearly, my creativity knows no bounds.
BBQ Quesadillas...Caramelized Veggie Quesadillas...and now, Black Bean and Lime Quesadillas.

I wanted to buy a rotisserie chicken.

Because I wanted a chicken salad.

And when I was at the store buying the spinach and tomatoes, I thought, "Kristin, you do not need to buy a rotisserie chicken.  You have frozen chicken at home.  You  will make that.  You don't need to buy more chicken.  Remember how the last $7 rotisserie chickens went mostly to waste?"

So I went home and, that's right, ate a chicken-less salad because I'm far too lazy to defrost and cook my own chicken.

The next day, I bought the rotisserie chicken.

Then I needed to use it up.

This was one of the ways.

Not having a husband around to eat up all the food is wearing me out.

Black Bean and Lime Quesadillas
makes 4 quesadillas

1 recipe of Garlic and Lime Black Bean Salsa (eat the rest of it with chips!)
2 cups of cooked, diced chicken
1 cup (approx.) shredded Mexican-blend cheese

Heat a frying pan over medium heat.

Place a tortilla in it and then top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese.

Add a 1/2 cup of the Garlic and Lime Black Bean Salsa.  Sprinkle on a 1/2 cup of the chicken.  Add a handful of shredded cheese.  Top with another tortilla.  

Check every 30 seconds or so, and as soon as the cheese is melted, carefully flip the quesadilla.  Cook for another 2 minutes or so until brown on the other side.  

Remove from the pan and slice with a pizza cutter (the easiest method).

Shared at:

Weekend Potluck

Lime White Bean Dip

I usually buy a vat of hummus when I go to Costco.  It's about $5.  I can get a container 1/4 the size of said vat at Wal-Mart, Fred Meyer, etc. for approximately $6.


How in the world does this make sense?  Who are the people who buy the teeny containers of $6 hummus at the grocery store?  And, more importantly, do they realize it's the exact same brand?  Hmm..sometimes I wonder about people in Alaska.

Anyway, a super favorite, ultra healthy (not) snack of mine is dipping mesquite BBQ chips in hummus.

When I'm out of BBQ chips, I use tortilla chips, Wheat Thins, even pretzels.  Oh, sometimes I use carrots as a last and, believe me, desperate resort. 

I dressed up some Costco hummus for two reasons:  I had some white beans I wanted to use up.  Also, I'm too lazy to go out and look for tahini (which makes the hummus, I'm told), so, by using store-bought hummus, it already has the tahini in it.

Lime White Bean Dip
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 cup white beans (I used northern beans), mashed
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. onion powder
1/4 t. sea salt
1/2 t. lime juice
1/2 t. grated lime zest
1/2 cup prepare hummus

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir well.  I used a potato masher to mash the beans and then just stirred everything else together.  Add more salt to taste if necessary.  Serve with chips, crackers, or veggies.

Roasted Chickpeas

I don't know that I ever ate a chickpea before a year or so ago.  Then I really got into hummus.  As in, 2 tubs a week.  It was like a new, healthy chip 'n dip habit.  Much better than bar-b-que chips and french onion dip, yes?  It works with chips, vegetables, pita bread, or crackers. 

I discovered that chickpeas are in fact good for you.  There are now two kinds of beans I will eat.  Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and black beans.  Kidney beans still freak me out a little.

The list of foods I won't eat?

Salmon, hamburgers, tuna, salmon, meatloaf, clams, mussels.

Did I mention salmon?

I adore my paisley plates.

Roasted Chickpeas
inspired by this and this

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
1/2 t. salt
1 t. onion powder
1 t. garlic powder
2 T. olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  On a foil-lined baking sheet, spread out the rinsed and drained chickpeas.  Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the spices.  Toss to coat.  Cover the pan loosely with another piece of foil.  (I used a 9x13 cake pan)  The foil on top is important.  The chickpeas tend to "pop" out of the pan as they're roasting.  So unless you want chickpeas littering the bottom of your oven...

Bake for 30-40 minutes until lightly browned and a bit crunchy.  Toss them around every 10 minutes so they brown evenly.
Store in a tupperware container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.  Though, I must admit, they taste best right out of the oven.

Shared at:
Friday Food
Coffee and Conversation Thursday
Strut Your Stuff Saturday