Meatless Mondays: Black Bean Quesadillas

Hi healthy platers!

Last week two of my dearest friends L & B came over to my apartment for dinner. I was so excited to share with them one of my favorite Meatless Monday recipes, &; I'm just as excited to share it with you.

If you have never tried black beans, you really should they are great way to add some protein into your meal & also a good meat replacement. Notice I said meat...not meal :)

So this recipe is quite simple to make &; it even looks delicious..look at all those colors! What I also love about this meal is I can make the whole recipe for myself &; freeze all the extras. Many people who live along or cook for only two can have a hard time finding recipes that don't leave them with tons of extras. Well here is one solution for you! I explain below what to do when freezing them...

BLACK BEAN QUESADILLAS


Ingredients
1 (15 oz.) can black beans
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 small red onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 bunch cilantro
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 batch taco seasoning (however much you would use for 1 lb. of meat)
10 taco sized tortillas

STEP 1: Drain the can of beans and rinse lightly. Place the beans in a large bowl along with the corn (no need to thaw)

STEP 2: Rinse the cilantro, remove the leaves, and chop roughly. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the cilantro, onion, garlic, and shredded cheese to the bowl with the beans and corn. Lastly, add the taco seasoning  to the bowl. Stir everything until evenly mixed.

* You can either cook or freeze them at this point*

STEP 3: To cook: Place a half cup of the filling on one side of each tortilla and fold over. Cook in a skillet on both sides over medium heat until brown and crispy and the cheesy filling has melted.

STEP 4: To freeze the quesadillas, simply fill each one and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the freezer for one hour to solidify the quesadillas and then transfer to a freezer bag. To reheat either microwave (for a soft quesadilla) or cook in a skillet on low heat (make sure to use low heat so that the filling has time to thaw and melt before the outside burns).

Chef's Notes
*You can certainly add whatever other vegetables you would like. Personally I think they would also taste delicious with some bell peppers or some tomatoes thrown in.
*Another option instead of using 15 oz. of canned black beans is you can make your own from the dried beans.

Yum! have a great week!
This recipe was adapted from the blog BudgetBytes